Posted on 12/21/2019 1:01:27 PM PST by Vince Ferrer
Russias only aircraft carrier has a fire that has covered over 600 square meters (6000 square feet) of the carrier. Even if the fire is put out, Nextbigfuture predicts that the carrier will not be worth salvaging.
Currently, the ship is being flooded with water and chemicals to douse electrical wiring and diesel fuel fires. Those chemicals are wrecking all of the electronics and electrical systems that are not being burned in the fire. The fire is wrecking the engine.
The carrier was already a 30-year old lemon. It was towed back from the coast of Spain in 2012.
It was put in for a 3-year repair program in 2017. Those repairs were budgeted at $340 million. In 2018, a 70-ton crane fell and sank Russias only drydock large enough to service the aircraft carrier. The crane knocked a 210-foot hole in the carrier deck.
The fire, whole and chemical damage have driven the cost of salvaging the carrier to over $2 billion. It would be better to start over.
Russia has had no usable aircraft carrier since 2017. Russia will officially have no carrier for the next ten years.
Russias whole navy has problems. They had a spy submarine sink in July 2019 and killed 14 sailors.
The Russian fleet has declined from a true oceangoing force with long-range battlecruisers and destroyers to a mostly coastal force operating small, short-range vessels.
In 2019, Russia got 23 new surface ships but only seven are armed combatants. One is a Gorshkov-class frigate (4,500 tons) and six are missile corvettes (2000 tons).
US Coast Guard cutters are 4500-ton ships.
The U.S. fleet in total displaces 4.6 million tons of water. The Chinese fleet displaces 1.8 million tons. The Russian fleet displaces just 1.2 million tons. The Russian Navy has really lost its one aircraft carrier. The Russian fleet is probably only 1.1 million tons.
The U.S. fleet can carry around 12,000 offensive missiles. Chinese ships in total can carry 5,200 missiles. Russias fleet packs no more than 3,300.
Nukes make all of this irrelevant
Russia isn’t going to invade Europe.
Russia isn’t going to attack the US.
Russia is probably more Christian than we are. They would probably be a better ally to us than most of the EU, if we would let them.
The saying goes: don’t put all your arrows in one quiver. The whole navy thing could be a ruse.
I told them they should have bought the Extended Warranty, but did they listen?
What an incredibly wrong statement, I’m sorry.
There are untold numbers of times our Aircraft Carriers have been used and VERY relevant since nukes have been around.
Even when NOT AT WAR their strategic importance CANNOT be stated STRONGLY ENOUGH.
Not every war or battle is going to be “THE BIG ONE” with Russia.
In fact, none have.
If Russia had a dozen MODERN Aircraft carriers I would have to assume you would think THEY were irrelevant too.
You’d be wrong.
“Russia is probably more Christian than we are. They would probably be a better ally to us than most of the EU, if we would let them.”
Which is why the left wing elites hate Russia 24/7.
China can pick it up cheap on Craig’s List...they are already driving around another fixer-upper they got from the Russkies...
Ditto what you said. I trust the Russians mire than I do the Left.
Historically Russia has been a land power. She has not really needed a blue water capable navy.
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Russia has four main strategic assets: a substantial nuclear arsenal that could devastate the United States virtually without warning; vast natural resources, especially of strategic metals and oil and gas; a large export arms industry that often equips the world’s bad guys; and membership on and veto power over UN Security Council action. In sum, Russia is capable of being a major aggravation to the United States and her allies — and frequently is.
Maybe we can buy it and rename it the USS Pelosi?
Oh, you make Putin mad. You not like Putin mad.
LOL
"You've lost another aircraft carrier?"
put a crate small block 350 in it, install a 2” lift kit, and it should be good to go...
Pitiful, inn't it?
I think they need to work on fire suppression.
They had a sub fire on the nuclear sub "Losharik" in July of this year. 14 souls were lost.
Lol.
Count me in as well.
I want to see burying the hatchet with Putin as a top priority of Trump’s second term.
And I certainly agree that Putin’s strong support of the Orthodox church is one reason he’s hated by American Leftists.
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