The US Armada enters the Medittearanean - sitting ducks?

SITREP: A false flag attack on a USN ship next?

Vineyard of the Saker,

21 April, 2018

by Nick for the Saker blog

The USS Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group left the east coast Naval Station Norfolk, VA on 11th April.

The aircraft carrier is accompanied by the guided-missile cruiser USS Normandy, the guided-missile destroyers USS Burke, Bulkeley, Forest Sherman and Farragut, and the destroyers USS Jason and The Sullivans. The strike group carries 6,500 sailors and Carrier Air Wing One.

Recent announcements about Russia’s hypersonic Kinzhal (‘Dagger’) missile system having made these vessels effectively obsolete, this means that the ships and their crews are essentially being sailed into a bloody scrapyard.

Even without the recent upgrading of the Kinzhal system, the experience of the British fleet in the Falklands conflict illustrates the vulnerability of warships to low-flying missiles. In addition to the sinking of the HMS Sheffield and Sir Galahad, virtually every British ship was hit by at least one of Argentinian’s French-made Exocet missiles – a weapons system which was already 20 years old at the time.

Exocet missile sinks HMS Sheffield during Falklands War:

Reportedly the only thing that saved the UK force from obliteration was that the Argentinians had got their missile altimeter settings wrong. The Russians will not make the same sort of error!

These facts are of course known to the US military planners and – one would assume and hope, for it is duty to know – by Donald Trump. And yet the US fleet is now nearing the coast of Syria, where it will met up with American and other NATO warships already in position. Together, they will make one big flock of sitting ducks.

If the people pushing Trump manage to get him launch a new strike on Syria (and we must expect a new false flag attack) and if the massive increase in NATO firepower means that enough missiles get through to enough targets to kill Russians, then Putin really has no choice but to sink the US fleet.

No choice because, whatever the danger of doing so, failure to respond would signal Russian defeat and retreat in Syria, which would of course lead to a rapid escalation of military pressure against Lebanon and Iran, and mean that when the Empire then rolls on to strike Russia, her most reliable allies will already have gone and her ‘soft underbelly’ will be seriously exposed.

So Putin orders the destruction of the US fleet, and an hour later all that is left is debris and mangled corpses in some oil slicks – and some ‘great’ photos and video clips to illustrate Trump’s declaration of war on account of “Russia’s deadly sneak attack on a US humanitarian force”.

Sounds familiar? It should do. Because we’re not just thinking here of the USS Maine, the Lusitania and the Gulf of Tonkin. The Washington habit of using sunken ships as the causus belli also of course included Pearl Harbor.

Just in case you need a reminder, here’s just one example of the many short videos out there on the truth about the Japanese attack on 7th December 1941 which explain how Roosevelt had advance intelligence of the planned attack, but decided not to pass it on to the anchored sitting duck fleet:

The more or less official excuse (the President’s guilt never having been formally acknowledged) is that to have alerted the fleet would also have tipped off the Japanese that their naval codes had already been broken. But the truth is of course that deliberately didn’t warn the fleet because he knew that the sacrifice would goad the American people into a war against Hitler to which he and those around and behind him were committed, but which the American people opposed.

The circumstances this time are of course somewhat different, not least that everyone with even a passing knowledge of the Russian missile capability already knows that 6,500 sailors are “on their way to Samara”.

Which makes Donald Trump either a criminally incompetent fool, a bad poker player or a wholly controlled puppet of the psychotic Anglo-Zionist elite. If he is one of the first two of these, then there is of course still a chance that he might respond to the disaster by blinking and retreating. In which case, the Beltway elite will use the human tragedy and his humiliation to remove him from office (not a bad consolation prize, from their point of view).

But if he is the third, then the ‘shock’ blitz on the US fleet will lead to the immediate declaration of World War Three.

Indeed, if things get that far (and we’re probably 48 hours and one White Helmets’ video away from it) then the only thing that realistically stands a chance of stopping the racist Anglo-Zionist psychopaths in their tracks is if the Russian attack and its result are such a devastating show of ‘shock and awe’ as to make it impossible for them to ignore a simultaneous public warning by Putin to Netanyahu that any further US hostile response will place Israel directly in the firing line as well.

That might JUST be enough to make the Neocons back off. If not, then World War Three it will be. It might not go nuclear straight away, but even while it is conventional EVERYTHING will change:

Dissident anti-war voices such as this will rapidly be silenced by blanket censorship and internment; your sons and daughters will be conscripted; your taxes will go through the roof – and you will have to live with the ever-present fear that, once China enters the war against Washington and its client states, the tide will run so fast against the ‘democratic allies’ that their ‘humanitarian missiles’ will end up with nuclear tips.

If that disturbs you (and it surely should) then all I ask is that you take the Pearl Harbor analogy and get busy spreading it on social media RIGHT NOW. Because once those young sailors and airmen have been sacrificed, the demand for a war of ‘revenge’ will be unstoppable. But if the warmongers realize that plenty of people have already understood the plan, it might just spook them into backing off.

In which case the fleet can do a few face-saving manoeuvres and then sail home again and we can look forward to a summer which may be warm, but not as uncomfortably hot as it could otherwise become!

The Mediterranean Is “Heating Up”! Sudden Mission Of Russian Navy Squadron

Nuclear hunters across the USS Harry S. Truman

Fort Russ,

23 April, 2018

Let’s go for a new solid “match” in the Mediterranean. More recent information says that Russia is sending a much larger naval squadron as it sailed from the Black Sea to two destroyer ships, along with ships of the Baltic Fleet and two nuclear-powered submarines.

A total of 2 Akula II and 2 Improvised Kilo submarines have been reported.

Beforehand, Project 1135M BSF Krivak II, Pytlivy 868, and Project61BSF Kashin Destroyer, Smetlivy 870, were found in the Straits.

As mentioned earlier, the frigate of missiles “Yaroslav the Wise” comes with the submarines and the Lena tanker. It is stressed that this ship is at the forefront of the ships of the Russian Navy’s constant combat readiness, around the world

The ship has Cruise missiles and is designed for search, tracking, and tracking enemy submarines. It has modern weapon systems and large anti-submarine capabilities at sea, anti-ship missiles as well as electronic warfare systems.

Outside of Syria, the frigates “Admiral Essen” and “Admiral Grigorovich” have long been in existence with an anti-submarine ship.

The reason is, of course, the arrival of the US aircraft carrier along with USS Battle Team Harry S. Truman, which includes:

USS Normandy (CG-60), and USS Class Arleigh Burke (DDG-51), USS Bulkeley (DDG-84), USS Farragut (DDG-99), USS Forrest Sherman DDG-68) and USS Winston S. Churchill (DDG-81).

So Russia is preparing for every chance, either new chemical provocation and a new NATO intervention, or a destruction operation of the Syrian S-300 with Russian collateral losses, so we will be involved there.

Smetlivy is a mid-size Kashin Project 61M Destroyer class last in the Russian Navy classes and belongs to the Black Sea Fleet force.

The crew of the vessel consists of 266 people and its post-modern reinforcement, which was essentially driven by the incorporation of surface-to-surface missile capabilities and the reinforcement of the electronic warfare sector, consists of a 76mm double-gun type AK-726, two double launchers Sa-N-1 Goa, which is the naval version of the S-125 with 32 missiles, a 533mm torpedo launcher, two RBU-6000 two-shot launchers, 2 quadrilateral surface-surface missile launchers Kh-35, and ASW helicopter type Ka-27.

The Admiral Grigorovich frigate was delivered to service on March 10, 2016 by Yantar yard in Kaliningrad and is the first of a total of 6 Project 11356 frigates, three of which will be delivered by 2017.

The frigate is a displacement of 3,850 tons and a crew of 200 people and has a new generation of electronic attack, surveillance and defense systems as well as weapon systems.

More specifically, the frigates of the type using a COGAG propulsion system with a total capacity of 69,000hp have a total length of 124.8m. width 15.2 and draft 4.2 m. can achieve maximum autonomy of 30 days or 4,850 nm. at an economic speed of 14 knots, with maximum speed reaching 30 knots.

Design features include thermal, acoustic and radar reduction characteristics.

Its armament is capable of dealing with every threat and consists of a 100mm A-190 gun, an 8-shot UKSK VLS launcher for Kalibr and 3M55 Oniks cruise missiles, two 12-inch Shtil-1 VLS missile launchers, two Kashtan CIWS systems, 8 Igla- 1E (SA-16), two 533mm double torpedo tubes and a RBU-6000 anti-submarine missile launcher, and has a helicopter shed and helicopter for a Ka-27PL or Ka-31 helicopter.

The most lethal Russian systems in the area are the Akula II underwater submarines that have a total displacement of 13,400 to 13,800 tons and a length of 110 m, and in their armor except the cruise missiles Kalibr have 4 torpedo tubes of 533 mm. and 4 650 miles. With about 40 torpedoes stock.

Nuclear submarines, which are considered among the world’s finest submarines and belong to the improved Akula II type, are double-hulled, 13,400-tonne displacement of 110m. with a crew of 62 people have a OK-659M nuclear reactor that through the steam generators drive the submarine through a 7-prop propeller achieving speeds of 35 knots while they can dive to depths of up to 520m.

Their reinforcement consists of 4 533 mm torpedo tubes for 28 torpedoes and Kalibr missiles and 4 650 mm torpedo tubes for 12 heavy duty torpedoes or additional cruise missiles and three MANPADS IGLA launchers for 18 missiles.

In addition to their very low acoustic performance, their equipment consists of active and passive sonar with side layout devices as well as mine detection sonar and a complete suite of electropic sensors and radar in the form of periscope.

Improved Kilo submarines such as those received by the Black Sea Fleet belong to Project 636 and have a displacement of 3950 tons, 74m long. crew of 52 people, while in 6 533mm torpedoes 18 can be launched either torpedoes or new Kalibr missiles. Finally, each submarine carries a SA-N-10 MANPADS launcher with 8 missiles.

Translated from Penta Postagma.

USS Harry Truman Aircraft Carrier Strike Group has entered the Mediterranean

Hal Turner,

20 April, 2018

The USS Truman and its Strike Group entered the western Mediterranean Sea early this morning, doubling the amount of American firepower in that region of the world.

The Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group (CSG) entered the U.S. 6th fleet area of operations Wednesday, the region where less than a week ago U.S., British and French forces launched air strikes against Syrian chemical weapons facilities.

The Truman CSG left Norfolk on April 11 for a regularly scheduled deployment to both the 6th Fleet and 7th Fleet areas of operation. Along with sailing in the Mediterranean Sea, the strike group is expected to also operate in the Arabian Sea and the Persian Gulf during this deployment.

“We are thrilled to have the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group here in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations and look forward to having them on our team as we conduct the full spectrum of maritime operations to include working alongside our NATO allies and regional partners. Our U.S. 6th fleet motto is ‘Power for Peace,’ and there is no more recognizable symbol of American naval power than a carrier strike group. Their presence in this vital region is a reflection of our commitment to a safe, prosperous and free Europe and Africa,” said Vice Adm. Lisa M. Franchetti, the U.S. 6th Fleet commander in a release.

In the pre-dawn hours of Saturday, three facilities that were part of the Syrian government’s chemical weapons program were hit by a coordinated set of U.S., French, and British airstrikes. A total of 105 missiles were launched from both ships and aircraft operating in the Mediterranean, Red Sea, and the Persian Gulf.

In the Eastern Mediterranean, Virginia-class attack boat USS John Warner (SSN-785) launched six Tomahawks and French frigate Languedoc (D-653) fired three of the naval variant of the SCALP land attack cruise missiles, according to Navy officials. British and French aircraft also fired missiles while flying in the region.

The Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group includes USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75), Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 1, guided-missile cruiser USS Normandy (CG-60), and guided-missile destroyers USS Arleigh Burke (DDG-51), USS Bulkeley (DDG-84), USS Farragut (DDG-99), USS Forrest Sherman (DDG-98), USS The Sullivans(DDG-68) and USS Winston S. Churchill (DDG-81). German frigate FGS Hessen (F-221) is also joining the Truman CSG for this deployment.

The Truman CSG includes twice the number of ships that were part of the George H.W. Bush Carrier Strike group that operated in the same regions a year ago. The Bush CSG included USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77), and Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers USS Laboon(DDG-58) and USS Truxtun (DDG-103); and guided missile cruisers USS Philippine Sea (CG-58) and USS Hue City (CG-66).

From Dmitry Orlov

Russian Missile Tech has Made America's Trillion Dollar Navy Obsolete

Times have changed and America can no longer project its military power like it did in Iraq. Those days are over.

Dmitry Orlov

Club Orlov,

19 April, 2018

For the past 500 years European nations—Portugal, the Netherlands, Spain, Britain, France and, briefly, Germany—were able to plunder much of the planet by projecting their naval power overseas. Since much of the world’s population lives along the coasts, and much of it trades over water, armed ships that arrived suddenly out of nowhere were able to put local populations at their mercy.

A financially crippling military brontosaurus

The armadas could plunder, impose tribute, punish the disobedient, and then use that plunder and tribute to build more ships, enlarging the scope of their naval empires. This allowed a small region with few natural resources and few native advantages beyond extreme orneriness and a wealth of communicable diseases to dominate the globe for half a millennium.

The ultimate inheritor of this naval imperial project is the United States, which, with the new addition of air power, and with its large aircraft carrier fleet and huge network of military bases throughout the planet, is supposedly able to impose Pax Americana on the entire world. Or, rather, was able to do so—during the brief period between the collapse of the USSR and the emergence of Russia and China as new global powers and their development of new anti-ship and antiaircraft technologies. But now this imperial project is at an end.

Prior to the Soviet collapse, the US military generally did not dare to directly threaten those countries to which the USSR had extended its protection. Nevertheless, by using its naval power to dominate the sea lanes that carried crude oil, and by insisting that oil be traded in US dollars, it was able to live beyond its means by issuing dollar-denominated debt instruments and forcing countries around the world to invest in them. It imported whatever it wanted using borrowed money while exporting inflation, expropriating the savings of people across the world. In the process, the US has accumulated absolutely stunning levels of national debt—beyond anything seen before in either absolute or relative terms. When this debt bomb finally explodes, it will spread economic devastation far beyond US borders. And it will explode, once the petrodollar wealth pump, imposed on the world through American naval and air superiority, stops working.

New missile technology has made a naval empire cheap to defeat. Previously, to fight a naval battle, one had to have ships that outmatched those of the enemy in their speed and artillery power. The Spanish Armada was sunk by the British armada. More recently, this meant that only those countries whose industrial might matched that of the United States could ever dream of opposing it militarily. 

But this has now changed: Russia’s new missiles can be launched from thousands of kilometers away, are unstoppable, and it takes just one to sink a destroyer and just two to sink an aircraft carrier. The American armada can now be sunk without having an armada of one’s own. The relative sizes of American and Russian economies or defense budgets are irrelevant: the Russians can build more hypersonic missiles much more quickly and cheaply than the Americans would be able to build more aircraft carriers.  

Equally significant is the development of new Russian air defense capabilities: the S-300 and S-400 systems, which can essentially seal off a country’s airspace. 

Wherever these systems are deployed, such as in Syria, US forces are now forced to stay out of their range. With its naval and air superiority rapidly evaporating, all that the US can fall back on militarily is the use of large expeditionary forces—an option that is politically unpalatable and has proven to be ineffective in Iraq and Afghanistan. There is also the nuclear option, and while its nuclear arsenal is not likely to be neutralized any time soon, nuclear weapons are only useful as deterrents. Their special value is in preventing wars from escalating beyond a certain point, but that point lies beyond the elimination of their global naval and air dominance. Nuclear weapons are much worse than useless in augmenting one’s aggressive behavior against a nuclear-armed opponent; invariably, it would be a suicidal move. What the US now faces is essentially a financial problem of unrepayable debt and a failing wealth pump, and it should be a stunningly obvious point that setting off nuclear explosions anywhere in the world would not fix the problems of an empire that is going broke.

Events that signal vast, epochal changes in the world often appear minor when viewed in isolation. Julius Caesar’s crossing of the Rubicon was just one river crossing; Soviet and American troops meeting and fraternizing at the Elbe was, relatively speaking, a minor event—nowhere near the scale of the siege of Leningrad, the battle of Stalingrad or the fall of Berlin. Yet they signaled a tectonic shift in the historical landscape. And perhaps we have just witnessed something similar with the recent pathetically tiny Battle of East Gouta in Syria, where the US used a make-believe chemical weapons incident as a pretense to launch an equally make-believe attack on some airfields and buildings in Syria. The US foreign policy establishment wanted to show that it still matters and has a role to play, but what really happened was that US naval and air power were demonstrated to be almost entirely beside the point.

Of course, all of this is terrible news to the US military and foreign policy establishments, as well as to the many US Congressmen in whose districts military contractors operate or military bases are situated. Obviously, this is also bad news for the defense contractors, for personnel at the military bases, and for many others as well. It is also simply awful news economically, since defense spending is about the only effective means of economic stimulus of which the US government is politically capable. Obama’s “shovel-ready jobs,” if you recall, did nothing to forestall the dramatic slide in the labor participation rate, which is a euphemism for the inverse of the real unemployment rate. There is also the wonderful plan to throw lots of money at Elon Musk’s SpaceX (while continuing to buy vitally important rocket engines from the Russians—who are currently discussing blocking their export to the US in retaliation for more US sanctions). In short, take away the defense stimulus, and the US economy will make a loud popping sound followed by a gradually diminishing hissing noise.

Needless to say, all those involved will do their best to deny or hide for as long as possible the fact that the US foreign policy and defense establishments have now been neutralized. My prediction is that America’s naval and air empire will not fail because it will be defeated militarily, nor will it be dismantled once the news sinks in that it is useless; instead, it will be forced to curtail its operations due to lack of funds. There may still be a few loud bangs before it gives up, but mostly what we will hear is a whole lot of whimpering. That’s how the USSR went; that’s how the USA will go too.