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Log inIt is southbound. Lots more people on deck than a normal transiting ship. The intelligence element come up for air and sightseeing perhaps.Militarov wrote:Militarov wrote:Intelligence gathering ship Priazove SSV201 transits Bosphorus:
Video too
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74 posters
Russian military intervention and aid to Syria #8
JohninMK- Posts : 15596
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max steel- Posts : 2930
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Any idea/info on this : U.S. troops take over air base in Syria
U.S. special operations troops have reportedly taken over an airfield in northeastern Syria, potentially clearing the way to flow more American military support to friendly militias fighting the Islamic State group.
A small team of U.S. troops is setting up a base camp at Rmeilan Air Base in the Syrian Kurdish region near Syria's Iraqi and Turkish borders, according to local reports.
American helicopters operated at the base over the past couple of weeks as local workers expanded the runway, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The airfield was until recently under control of the Syrian Kurdish forces, known as the YPG, but was turned over to the U.S. to help expand American support for the Syrian Democratic Forces, which is the loose-knit coalition of American-backed militants fighting the Islamic State group.
"Under a deal with the YPG, the U.S. was given control of the airport. The purpose of this deal is to back up the SDF, by providing weapons and an air base for U.S. warplanes," an SDF spokesperson, Taj Kordsh, told Al-Jazeera, the Qatar-based international news network, in a report published Wednesday.
In December, a team of fewer than 50 U.S. special operations troops entered Syria for the first time and made face-to-face contact with the friendly Syrian militants, defense official said.
A spokesman for the U.S. Defense Department, Army Col. Steve Warren, declined to comment on the reports of Americans using the base.
"That operation is ongoing. But because of the special nature of these forces, it's very important that we not discuss specifically where they're located," Warren told reporters Wednesday.
Rmeilan is near some of Syria's major oil production facilities.
The airfield is in the Hasakah region, where American-backed militias have been mounting offensive operations against Islamic State-held territory northeast of the extremist group's stronghold in Raqqa.
It is also near a key supply line connecting Raqqa to the Islamic State group's second major city, Mosul, Iraq. Cutting that supply line is a key piece of the current American strategy for defeating the group.
Control of the airfield would help U.S. troops expedite delivery of weapons and ammunition to the region as well as operate more aircraft such as medevac helicopters, armed drones or intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance platforms.
U.S. special operations troops have reportedly taken over an airfield in northeastern Syria, potentially clearing the way to flow more American military support to friendly militias fighting the Islamic State group.
A small team of U.S. troops is setting up a base camp at Rmeilan Air Base in the Syrian Kurdish region near Syria's Iraqi and Turkish borders, according to local reports.
American helicopters operated at the base over the past couple of weeks as local workers expanded the runway, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The airfield was until recently under control of the Syrian Kurdish forces, known as the YPG, but was turned over to the U.S. to help expand American support for the Syrian Democratic Forces, which is the loose-knit coalition of American-backed militants fighting the Islamic State group.
"Under a deal with the YPG, the U.S. was given control of the airport. The purpose of this deal is to back up the SDF, by providing weapons and an air base for U.S. warplanes," an SDF spokesperson, Taj Kordsh, told Al-Jazeera, the Qatar-based international news network, in a report published Wednesday.
In December, a team of fewer than 50 U.S. special operations troops entered Syria for the first time and made face-to-face contact with the friendly Syrian militants, defense official said.
A spokesman for the U.S. Defense Department, Army Col. Steve Warren, declined to comment on the reports of Americans using the base.
"That operation is ongoing. But because of the special nature of these forces, it's very important that we not discuss specifically where they're located," Warren told reporters Wednesday.
Rmeilan is near some of Syria's major oil production facilities.
The airfield is in the Hasakah region, where American-backed militias have been mounting offensive operations against Islamic State-held territory northeast of the extremist group's stronghold in Raqqa.
It is also near a key supply line connecting Raqqa to the Islamic State group's second major city, Mosul, Iraq. Cutting that supply line is a key piece of the current American strategy for defeating the group.
Control of the airfield would help U.S. troops expedite delivery of weapons and ammunition to the region as well as operate more aircraft such as medevac helicopters, armed drones or intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance platforms.
JohninMK- Posts : 15596
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That airfield is not new news. Been around for a while.
The US doubled the length of the runway, to I think 3000m and its width. It can take C-130 and C-17.
Seems to be mainly logistics into the Kurds.
The US doubled the length of the runway, to I think 3000m and its width. It can take C-130 and C-17.
Seems to be mainly logistics into the Kurds.
JohninMK- Posts : 15596
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Join date : 2015-06-16
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A pair of Mig-24 off to make someone's day
https://twitter.com/bm21_grad/status/701793662196441089
https://twitter.com/bm21_grad/status/701793662196441089
JohninMK- Posts : 15596
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From Aldin, interesting camo
magnumcromagnon- Posts : 8138
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- Post n°56
Re: Russian military intervention and aid to Syria #8
magnumcromagnon Tue Feb 23, 2016 4:24 am
JohninMK wrote:That airfield is not new news. Been around for a while.
The US doubled the length of the runway, to I think 3000m and its width. It can take C-130 and C-17.
Seems to be mainly logistics into the Kurds.
The claim was never confirmed neither from the Russian nor the US side.
JohninMK- Posts : 15596
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Means that it is probably true but politically difficult to acknowledge.magnumcromagnon wrote:JohninMK wrote:That airfield is not new news. Been around for a while.
The US doubled the length of the runway, to I think 3000m and its width. It can take C-130 and C-17.
Seems to be mainly logistics into the Kurds.
The claim was never confirmed neither from the Russian nor the US side.
CNN checked it out and I seem to remember a satellite photo with the work underway.
KoTeMoRe- Posts : 4212
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JohninMK wrote:A pair of Mig-24 off to make someone's day
https://twitter.com/bm21_grad/status/701793662196441089
They're on light suits. Only two Shturms/Atakas and two racks. Shayrat...Qayratayn's having a ball.
magnumcromagnon- Posts : 8138
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- Post n°59
Re: Russian military intervention and aid to Syria #8
magnumcromagnon Tue Feb 23, 2016 1:58 pm
JohninMK wrote:Means that it is probably true but politically difficult to acknowledge.magnumcromagnon wrote:JohninMK wrote:That airfield is not new news. Been around for a while.
The US doubled the length of the runway, to I think 3000m and its width. It can take C-130 and C-17.
Seems to be mainly logistics into the Kurds.
The claim was never confirmed neither from the Russian nor the US side.
CNN checked it out and I seem to remember a satellite photo with the work underway.
Hardly the case, and CNN doesn't have ELINT/SIGINT, or any other means of electronic intelligence of their own to verify their claims, and we've heard them spread scatology over fake satellite photo's over the past in other conflicts (Ukraine). The US media has had a pretension to make claims relying on 'unnamed sources', in the case of the Syrian conflict they've made claims that even the Pentagon could not verify.
Dima- Posts : 1222
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BM-21 GRAD @bm21_grad 23 hours ago
Video of Russian Mi-24s taking off from Shayrat airbase, Homs
https://twitter.com/bm21_grad/status/701793662196441089
Video of Russian Mi-24s taking off from Shayrat airbase, Homs
https://twitter.com/bm21_grad/status/701793662196441089
short_fuze- Posts : 272
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A RuAF An-124 RA-82014 has been making lots of flights between Syria and various parts of Russia over the past week or so - typically 2 flights a day. Russian destinations include Krasnodar and Togliati (spelling?) Weapons/personnel or humanitarian aid?
http://www.flightradar24.com/data/airplanes/ra-82014#8e09a3c
http://www.flightradar24.com/data/airplanes/ra-82014#8e09a3c
ult- Posts : 837
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LMV Lynx + BTR-82A with IED jammers in Hmeymim.
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Yep. Likely gathering old bombs and perhaps some weapons for the VKS to drop. The AN-124s have been a very important part of the logistics operation for the Russian intervention in particular.short_fuze wrote:A RuAF An-124 RA-82014 has been making lots of flights between Syria and various parts of Russia over the past week or so - typically 2 flights a day. Russian destinations include Krasnodar and Togliati (spelling?) Weapons/personnel or humanitarian aid?
http://www.flightradar24.com/data/airplanes/ra-82014#8e09a3c
par far- Posts : 3496
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"The recent agreement between the USA and Russia really solves nothing, it does not even end the war, and both sides are expressing a great deal of caution about its future implementation. And yet, this is a huge victory for Russia. While it is too early to say that “the Russian won in Syria”, I think that it is now fair to say that the Russian position on Syria has won. Here is why:"
http://southfront.org/the-russian-american-agreement-on-syria/
http://southfront.org/the-russian-american-agreement-on-syria/
PapaDragon- Posts : 13463
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In the land of Thanksgiving bird reality is starting to sink in...
Syrian impasse and Russian siege
Turkey has paid a very heavy price for the misguided Syria policy the Justice and Development Party (AKP)/President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan regime has been pursuing since 2011.
http://www.todayszaman.com/columnist/bulent-kenes/syrian-impasse-and-russian-siege_413105.html
The cost of the adventurous strategy of "changing the regime of a neighboring country" -- which was in stark contrast to traditional Turkish foreign policy -- has not been restricted to bilateral relations and regional policies. The deviant Syria policy has relied completely on pipe dreams and personal ambitions, and, therefore, has poisoned Turkey's ties with international powers and organizations as well. Moreover, it has started to threaten the country's domestic security, territorial integrity, national unity, social peace and economy.
This article is not spacious enough to describe thoroughly the damage the AKP/Erdoğan regime's erroneous Syria policy has done to Turkey's critical bilateral and international relations. But we can cite Turkey's ties with Iran, Iraq, Russia, the United States, the European Union and even NATO at once. If the AKP/Erdoğan regime does not accept the total failure of its Syria policy and refuses to make a sharp turn away from it, I am afraid the price it will make Turkey pay will become higher. And the losses we suffer will become irreversible.
Even if we look solely at the miserable state of Turkish-Russian relations, we can still see the devastating consequences of Turkey's failing Syria policy on the country's national interests. Thanks to Turkey's poorly calculated policies, Russia has already attained the type of vast geostrategic opportunities it has been unable to attain for centuries. Russia relies on legitimate excuses it can easily support under international law and is able to ride on the international community's justified hatred of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). And it has been able to settle in military and political terms in Syria, a country having a 910-kilometer common border with Turkey. In this way, Russia has created the kind of sphere of influence in the east Mediterranean region it has been dreaming of for centuries.
Until very recently, Turkey had been enjoying extremely amiable relations with Russia to the extent of holding joint Cabinet meetings and mutually lifting visa requirements. But the political, commercial and economic relations between the two countries are steeply declining today. Having once reached the level of $32 billion annually, any improvement in the Turkish-Russian economic ties is now a fancy. Likewise, Russian tourists who would frequent Turkey in the past are already a distant memory.
The political, economic, military and strategic price Turkey has paid is hardly restricted to these. Since Turkey downed a Russian warplane last November, citing an airspace violation that lasted all of 17 seconds, Turkey has been besieged militarily by Russia. Moreover, Russia is trying to pull Turkey into a conflict in retaliation for its downed aircraft. Looking at this picture, we may come with the following analysis: Largely taking advantage of the opportunities created by the AKP/Erdoğan regime's misguided policies, Russia has installed itself in Syria, ready for all sorts of potential conflicts. There is no indication that Russia's military presence in Syria will be temporary.
With this move, Russia has considered all sorts of potential reactions from Turkey. It could be said it is even trying to provoke Ankara into military action. As it does not expect the US, the EU and NATO to show any serious reaction, Russia is very likely to stay in Syria forever. Moreover, the political and military system that will take shape in Syria will certainly be in line with Russia's interests.
Having turned the downing of its warplane into a tremendous strategic move, Russia has effectively eliminated the presence of Turkish aircraft in Syrian airspace. Thus, the only thing Turkey could do in Syria is to shell the positions of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), People's Protection Units (YPG) and Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Moreover, even this action runs the risk of Russia viewing this shelling, which has had a limited effect, as an "aggressive action" against "legitimate" groups in Syria. Indeed, the Bashar al-Assad regime treats the PYD/YPG forces as legitimate groups. And its official position was noted in the records of the United Nations Security Council. And Russia has officially referred to the armed PYD/YPG forces as "patriotic opposition groups" in Syria.
The critical question is: Will the Russian military presence -- which came to Syria under bilateral defense agreements concluded between the Kremlin and Damascus -- choose to retaliate for the Turkish artillery fire targeting PYD/YPG/PKK forces in the country? What would the practical consequences of such an intervention be? As the Turkish army cannot enter Syria in response to this reaction, isn't it likely that Turkey would lose any military action beyond or along the border? If the intense shelling fails to prevent the YPG from making progress, why doesn't Turkey review this strategy?
Ahead of the cease-fire that will enter into force on Feb. 27, the groups in the field are expected to act swiftly to expand the area they control. In such a case, does the policy of sending the dissident fighters defined as terrorists by the Assad regime and Russia into Syria from the border at night serve Turkey's interests? Isn't it obvious that this practice is giving Russia new cards to play?
While the common border between Turkey and Syria is largely controlled by the PYD, everyone knows that this is only possible thanks to Russia. In other words, Turkey has come to effectively share virtually all of its 910-kilometer Syrian border with Russia. Moreover, the Russian siege of Turkey is not restricted to the Syrian border. As a matter of fact, Russia historically continues to act as the Orthodox protector. In this context, Armenia, Greek Cypriots and Greece are Russia's natural allies. Russian S-300 and S-400 missiles installed in these countries as well as in Iran surround Turkey on all sides.
Furthermore, Russia has increased the number of warplanes it has deployed in Armenia and will start to patrol the area in March. Out of 29 outposts of Armenian Border Forces -- where 1,500 Russian officers serve -- 14 are very close to the Turkish border. The Russian siege on Turkey is also increasing from the Black Sea. Sending 40 new warplanes and helicopters to the Kuban airbase, Russia has seriously undermined the reconnaissance capabilities of Turkish planes over the Black Sea.
As is clearly seen, the Syrian predicament into which Turkey is being pulled by the AKP/Erdoğan regime is making Turkey lose on all fronts. The way to thwart the Russian siege is to get away from the Syrian dilemma by retreating from the obvious errors regarding this crisis.
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Truce Deal ceasefire zones according to Russian Ministry of Defence.
KoTeMoRe- Posts : 4212
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Militarov wrote:
Truce Deal ceasefire zones according to Russian Ministry of Defence.
Truce or Trounce? HueHueHue!
JohninMK- Posts : 15596
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What about north and east of the Aleppo area?KoTeMoRe wrote:Militarov wrote:
Truce Deal ceasefire zones according to Russian Ministry of Defence.
Truce or Trounce? HueHueHue!
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Should not apply since the combatants fighting against the SAA are all designated as terrorist factions.JohninMK wrote:What about north and east of the Aleppo area?KoTeMoRe wrote:Militarov wrote:
Truce Deal ceasefire zones according to Russian Ministry of Defence.
Truce or Trounce? HueHueHue!
PapaDragon- Posts : 13463
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Militarov wrote:
.............................
Truce Deal ceasefire zones according to Russian Ministry of Defence.
Oh look at this... all those "groups" that were making conditions for participating in the ceasefire were never on the ceasefire list to begin with.
I guess this would shut all the peace-haters up, am I right? Shootout continues and that is awesome news...
If that statement incriminates me as a peace-hater I will just plead the 2nd amendment.
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PapaDragon wrote:Militarov wrote:
.............................
Truce Deal ceasefire zones according to Russian Ministry of Defence.
Oh look at this... all those "groups" that were making conditions for participating in the ceasefire were never on the ceasefire list to begin with.
I guess this would shut all the peace-haters up, am I right? Shootout continues and that is awesome news...
If that statement incriminates me as a peace-hater I will just plead the 2nd amendment.
I broke my fingers trying to explain some people here that ceasefire does not include ISIS and Nusra. But no...
KoTeMoRe- Posts : 4212
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Militarov wrote:PapaDragon wrote:Militarov wrote:
.............................
Truce Deal ceasefire zones according to Russian Ministry of Defence.
Oh look at this... all those "groups" that were making conditions for participating in the ceasefire were never on the ceasefire list to begin with.
I guess this would shut all the peace-haters up, am I right? Shootout continues and that is awesome news...
If that statement incriminates me as a peace-hater I will just plead the 2nd amendment.
I broke my fingers trying to explain some people here that ceasefire does not include ISIS and Nusra. But no...
Hence it's the Trounce Line....
KiloGolf- Posts : 2481
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^^ Gotta love how kosher the map is, the general's image hit the spot. 
yes... the Golan
yes... the Golan
JohninMK- Posts : 15596
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Now the distances are getting longer, supply trucks are becoming much more important, here is a Russian merchant Ro-Ro ship almost overflowing with them on the Syrian Express yesterday.
https://twitter.com/YorukIsik/status/702763093353480192/photo/1
https://twitter.com/YorukIsik/status/702763093353480192/photo/1