Free Republic

February 22, 2008 Son of Star Wars takes out toxic satellite in $30m space hit Michael Evans, Defence Editor and Jane Macartney in Beijing Video need to know: expert opinion on the satellite operation The United States provided dramatic proof of its capability to destroy an object in space when a US navy missile scored a direct hit on an American satellite falling out of control. Missile experts said that the Standard SM-3 weapon, fired from the USS Lake Erie, a Ticonderoga-class cruiser, took about three minutes to reach the satellite 150 miles (240km) up in the sky, flew above...

Wikicommons The Kerch warship had suffered a series of mishaps during its decades in service. A fire broke out aboard an “unlucky” Russian anti-submarine ship that was moored for repairs in the docks of Sevastopol, a news report said. The fire aboard the Kerch warship was “localized” within an hour and nobody was injured in the incident Tuesday, a navy spokesperson said, Interfax reported. The Kerch had suffered a series of mishaps during its decades in service, the report said, adding that the ship had an “unlucky” reputation among Black Sea Fleet sailors. A fire broke out in the officers'...

The Admiral Nakhimov heavy cruiser is to receive new ordnance, putting it ahead of the Russian fleet’s current flagship, the Peter the Great missile cruiser. Military sources say the installation of the new long-range S-400 and Poliment-Redut anti-aircraft missile systems, part of the modernization of the Russian fleet, will not change the ship's combat missions. Heavy nuclear missile-bearing cruiser Admiral Nakhimov in the Barents Sea. Source: Oleg Lastochkin / RIA Novosti Russia’s Admiral Nakhimov nuclear cruiser is to receive the new long-range S-400 and the middle-range Poliment-Redut anti-missile systems, as well as Caliber cruise missiles, as part of the ongoing...

After being arrested, a Wisconsin couple had sex in the back of a police cruiser, an encounter that was interrupted when a cop heard the woman “begin to moan loudly” while her legs were “touching the ceiling” of the vehicle, according to a criminal complaint.

Five months after the first pictures surfaced in February 2014, the Type 055 cruiser testing rig at Wuhan has taken significant steps towards completion. The advantages of a land based test rig allow Chinese naval engineers to make cheaper adjustments and modifications to the electronics, compared to rebuilding an expensive cruiser on sea trials. Once launched, the Type 055 cruiser will be among the world's most powerful surface combatant warships, giving the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) a multipurpose warship useful for both blue water expeditionary warfare and anti-access/area denial missions. While much scaffolding remains, the photos show recent additions...

Possible missile cruiser could outweigh rival surface combatants There is evidence that China is in the early stages of building a positively enormous missile cruiser—one that could be bigger and potentially more powerful than any equivalent American or Japanese vessel. On April 6, China Defense Blog—an Internet forum for close observers of Chinese military developments—republished a series of photographs that recently circulated on China’s firewalled national Internet. The photos, reportedly snapped at the Wuhan Technical College of Communication, depict what appears to be a mock-up of a large surface warship—the kind of mock-up used for testing radars and other sensors....

MOSCOW, January 24 (RIA Novosti) – The refit of one of Russia’s four heavy nuclear-powered missile cruisers has begun after years of delays, the country’s largest shipbuilder said Friday. The work on the Admiral Nakhimov will revamp its firepower and set the stage for the revitalization of the Russian Navy’s capital ships, which have not been modernized in the post-Soviet era. The vessel, formerly named the Kalinin, is one of four Kirov-class missile cruisers, the largest surface combat ships in operation with any navy. Only one of the ships, the Pyotr Veliky, is operational, but Russia plans to return the...

St. Pete cops said that Vanessa Nicole Brooks, 22, stole their cruiser while they were inside an apartment investigating a domestic quarrel, reports the Tampa Bay Times in St. Petersburg. As Brooks backed the car up, she hit another police car before taking off.

HASC chair: Don’t mothball the cruisers, upgrade them House Armed Services Committee Chairman Rep. Buck McKeon said Wednesday he wants the Navy to keep the seven cruisers it has proposed decommissioning because the fleet needs the ships to reach their full lives. He told an audience at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library out in California that he would try to help save the ships that Secretary Panetta and other top leaders — though not Navy leaders — have basically characterized as worn out. “We will try to hold back cuts to the Navy’s cruiser force,” he said, “finding the money...

Russia to refit Admiral Nakhimov nuclear cruiser after 2012 The overhaul of mothballed Admiral Nakhimov nuclear-powered cruiser will start after 2012 with the focus on refitting the ship with advanced weaponry and electronics, the Sevmash shipyard said. The Admiral Nakhimov (former Kalinin) Kirov class cruiser was commissioned in 1988 and mothballed in 1999. It has been docked at the Sevmash shipyard in the city of Severodvinsk in northern Russia, undergoing repairs since 2005. “During the talks with the Russian Defense Ministry, we have concluded that it would be senseless to continue the repairs without determining the final variant of the...

Russia to refit nuclear missile cruisers - media The Admiral Nakhimov nuclear missile cruisers © RIA Novosti. Oleg Lastochkin The Russian Defense Ministry is planning to refit three mothballed nuclear-powered Kirov-class missile cruisers in a major boost for the Russian Navy's combat strength, Izvestia newspaper said on Wednesday. The Admiral Nakhimov, Admiral Lazarev and Admiral Ushakov nuclear missile cruisers were built in the Soviet era but have been decommissioned and laid up in dock for over a decade. The only active Kirov class cruiser is the Pyotr Veliky, the flagship of Russia's Northern Fleet. Izvestia cited a source in the...

‘Aircraft carrier killer’: RT goes aboard flagship Varyag Published: 19 September, 2011, 16:05 The Varyag guided missile cruiser knows no fear – not even the old one about having women aboard. RT’s female reporter admires the might of the Pacific flagship, samples sea bread, looks into the hearts of its crew, and meets the ship’s cats. His wide green eyes were studying me. I was studying him, too. It just seemed too strange. A red cat with a sly face – it really was sly – was lying by the ship’s gun. It then stretched itself, yawned as if we...

Missile cruiser Marshal Ustinov may reinforce Russian Pacific Fleet in 2013 -Navy Missile cruiser Marshal Ustinov © RIA Novosti. Sergei Kompaniychenko The Russian missile cruiser Marshal Ustinov may reinforce Russia's Pacific Fleet in 2013 after repairs, a high-placed official of the Russian Navy said on Sunday. "In two years, the cruiser may be transferred from Severomorsk to Vladivostok to reinforce the grouping of the Pacific Fleet's surface ships," the admiral said, adding that the Navy's main headquarters was considering this possibility, although a final decision had not yet been made. The Marshal Ustinov, a Slava-class missile cruiser, was launched in...

Modernizing The Aegis Fleet Is Smart Move By The U.S. Navy 17:42 GMT, January 12, 2011 With all the attention being given to reducing the cost of national defense, it is important to acknowledge the value of upgrading current platforms to provide them with additional capability and, hopefully, longer service lives. The Army has a program to upgrade its fleets of Abrams tanks, Bradley fighting vehicles and Stryker wheeled vehicles. The Air Force is modernizing its fleet of A-10 ground attack aircraft and, according to Secretary Gates, will modernize its fleet of aging F-15s with new radars. One of the...

Russia set to rebuild its nuclear-powered cruisers RIA Novosti military commentator Ilya Kramnik The Russian Defense Ministry plans to overhaul its four Project 1144 nuclear-powered cruisers. Notably, the Admiral Nakhimov heavy nuclear-powered missile cruiser will reenter service in 2012, after lengthy repairs (that will have lasted over a decade in total) are completed. The possibility of the cruisers' return has been one of the most hotly discussed topics among analysts and enthusiasts alike. Everyone is keen to discover to what extent these warships meet current naval requirements. Admiral Gorshkov's favorite project Vladimir Chelomei, chief designer of the P-700 Granit (SS-N-19...

A single car crash on Interstate 675 shut down the southbound lanes in Sugarcreek Twp. for six hours Aug. 23. Brennan S. Eden, 19, of Mason, Ohio, lost control of his car and slammed into the concrete pillar of a bridge south of Indian Ripple Road about 7:15 a.m. The force of the crash broke the car into three pieces and Brennan was ejected. Witnesses said moments before the crash, Brennan was passing other drivers at speeds of at least 100 mph. He crashed when he drove off the left side of the roadway while passing a Sugarcreek Twp. police...

Russia plans to upgrade 3 nuclear-powered cruisers by 2020 (Update 1) Russia will upgrade and put on active duty three mothballed Soviet-era nuclear-powered missile cruisers by 2020, a high-ranking Navy official told RIA Novosti on Saturday. Russia built four Kirov class nuclear-powered cruisers in 1974-1998. One of them, the Pyotr Veliky, is in active service as the flagship of the Northern Fleet. "Cruisers Admiral Nakhimov, Admiral Lazarev and Admiral Ushakov will be modernized and returned to the Russian Navy's combat force in 10 years," the official said, adding that their equipment and weapons will be fully modernized. The Kirov class...

Russia mulls purchase of Ukrainian missile cruiser Russia considers purchasing an unfinished missile cruiser from Ukraine, Russian Navy Commander Admiral Vladimir Vysotsky said on Saturday. Construction of the Slava class Admiral Lobov cruiser was launched in 1984 at the Nikolayev shipyard in Ukraine but stalled in the late 1980s due to a sharp reduction in military expenditure. The cruiser was renamed the Ukraina in 1992. A Russian-Ukraine intergovernmental commission discussed the purchase of the Ukraina last week in Sevastopol, a major base for the Russian and Ukrainian navies. "We agreed with the Ukrainian side that we will consider all variants...

WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah (AP) -- Police say a woman is undergoing a mental evaluation after leading officers on a bizarre chase while she wasn't wearing any clothes. Officers say she stole two cars, including a police cruiser, and crashed both before she was subdued with a stun gun Tuesday. West Valley City police Capt. Tom McLachlan says the woman is in her early 30s, but her name is not being released for now. He says doctors need to finish the medical assessment before police decide...charges she may face. McLachlan says doctors do not believe drugs or alcohol were involved......

Russia considers buying back missile cruiser Ukraina The Russian and Ukrainian presidents have agreed that Russia will help Ukraine complete the building of the guided missile cruiser Ukraina, which has been docked unfinished at the Nikolayev (Mykolaiv) shipyard in Ukraine. The question right now is, what fate does the future hold for this cruiser, the last commissioned unit of a class of warships known as Project 1164, and, in particular, who will the ship ultimately belong to? The fourth Project 1164 class cruiser (the class is also referred to as Slava, by the name of its initial ship) was laid...