U.S. Northern Command and the Coast Guard have been tracking a Russian spy ship.
The ship - Victor Leonov is equipped with electronic surveillance gear and has been
lurking off the East Coast of the United States.
On 16th, the U.S Coast Guard sent out a Maritime Safety Information Bulletin warning boaters
that Viktor Leonov operating in an “unsafe manner” off the coast of South Carolina
and Georgia.
On 17th, the U.S Coast Guard said the Russian ship was operating in USCG’s Jacksonville,
Florida, area of responsibility, which encompasses roughly 40,000 square miles of ocean and stretches
nearly 190 miles of coast from Kings Bay, Georgia, to Port Malabar, Florida.
The Coast Guard posted on its bulletin, “This unsafe operation includes not energizing
running lights while in reduced visibility conditions, not responding to hails by commercial
vessels attempting to coordinate safe passage and other erratic movements,”
It added, “Vessels transiting these waters should
maintain a sharp lookout and use extreme caution when navigating in proximity to this vessel.
Mariners should make reports of any unsafe situations to the United States Coast Guard,”
In this video Defense Updates reports on Russian spy ship Victor Leonov operating recklessly
off US coast.
Let’s get started.
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Viktor Leonov is a Vishnya class warship.
The Vishnya class (also known as the Meridian class) are a group of intelligence collection
ships built for the Soviet Navy in the 1980s.
The ships continue in service with the Russian Navy.
The Soviet designation is Project 864.
The Russian Navy operates seven of these ships
Viktor Leonov has a length of 91.5 m (300 ft 2 in) and displacement of 3,470 tons when
fully loaded
The ship is powered by 2 Sulzer diesel engines, 4,400 bhp (3,300 kW) which drive 2 shafts.
It is a purpose built ship designed for signals intelligence gathering via an extensive array
of sensors.
The data could be transmitted to shore via satellite link antennas housed in two large
radomes.
Though it is unclear, what kind of data the ship can gather but most analysts agree that
it can process a wide range of signals and gather a broad range of information.
Viewers may note that Vasily Tatishchev the 6th ship of this class was deployed to the
Eastern Mediterranean Sea on 5 October 2015 to monitor the conflict in Syria.
The ships are armed with two AK-630 close-in weapon systems and SA-N-8 surface-to-air missile
(SAM) launchers, for last resort self-defense.
The AK-630 is a fully automatic naval close-in weapon system based on a six-barreled 30 mm
rotary cannon.
In "630", "6" means 6 barrels and "30" means 30 mm.
It is mounted in an enclosed automatic turret and directed by MR-123 radar and television
detection and tracking.
SA-N-8 is a low-altitude, short-range tactical surface-to-air missile.
It is used for air defense.
Adm. James Foggo III, the commander of U.S. Naval Forces Europe and U.S. Naval Forces
Africa, told reporters Dec 18 that the Russian spy ship was operating a “couple hundred”
miles off the East Coast.
North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command told Military Times
that they were tracking the Russian ship.
Foggo stated that the Coast Guard reported that the Russian ship was not responding to
signals or “bridge to bridge” radio communications and was running without lights on at sea.
According to him, these actions are risky.
As reported by Military Times, Maj. Mark R. Lazane, a spokesman with NORTHCOM stated “We
are aware of Russia’s naval activities, including the deployment of these intelligence
collection ships in the region,”
Lazane said, "While we won’t discuss specific measures
being taken, NORAD and NORTHCOM routinely conduct air and maritime operations to ensure
the defense of the United States and Canada,”
He added further, “NORAD and USNORTHCOM closely track vessels of interest, including
foreign military naval vessels such as the Russian ship VICTOR LEONOV, in our area of
responsibility”
It is evident that the U.S military has eyes on the ship and is tracking its movements
carefully.
It’s not the first time the Viktor Leonov has conducted intelligence operations off
the East Coast off the U.S.
In 2017, the Pentagon announced the Leonov was being trailed by a Coast Guard vessel
but was operating in international waters.
The then Pentagon spokesman Capt. Jeff Davis had explained the situation about Leonov in
February 2017 stating, “This is not something where we have seen
where they have entered territorial waters, and as such it is lawful and very similar
to operations we do,”
He had stated,
“They routinely deploy intelligence vessels worldwide to monitor the activities and particularly
naval activities of other nations, but then again conducted lawfully in international
waters and not unlike operations we conduct ourselves,”
The Pentagon previously revealed that the Russian surveillance ship has been spotted
conducting operations on the U.S. submarine base in New London, Connecticut, and other
Navy bases in Florida and Virginia as far back as 1998.
Russian maneuvers are not new but the way it is being carried out indicates newfound
confidence and belligerence.
This comes from the fact that in the last 4-5 years Russia military has taken several
steps which points to its revival.
The Syrian campaign indicated that the Russian military was going through modernization at
a rapid pace.
Before it, most Western military leaders and analysts thought the Russian army’s equipment
and strategy was outdated; their air force’s bombs and missiles were “more dumb than
smart”; its navy was “more rust than ready”.
But what they witnessed in Syria and Ukraine came as a shock.
Russian military jets have, at times, have carried out more sorties in a day in Syria
than the US-led coalition had done in a month.
The Russian Navy had launched missiles against targets 900 miles or around 1450 km away from
the Caspian Sea The air defenses installed by the Russians
in Syria and eastern Ukraine made it extremely hazardous for the West to carry out strikes
against the Assad regime or Ukrainian separatists.
Lieutenant General Ben Hodges, the commander of the US army in Europe, has described Russian
advances in electronic warfare in Syria and Ukraine – a field in which they were typically
supposed to be backward – as “eye watering”.
In 2018 , during the state of the nation address, Present Putin had unveiled several new weapons
like Kinzhal - hypersonic Air-Launched Ballistic Missile, Avangard - a hypersonic boost-glide
reentry vehicle, the Poseidon - an autonomous thermonuclear torpedo, the Sarmat, a new intercontinental-range
ballistic missile, and the Burevestnik - a nuclear-powered cruise missile.
Some of these weapons like the Kinzhal has been reported to be operational now.
There is no doubt that everything is not hunky-dory and pockets of concern still remain.
For example, Russia's only aircraft carrier - Admiral Kuznetsov has burst into flames
while undergoing repairs.
To know more, please check the video on the above card.
Russian president Mr. Putin revealed that a procurement plan is being laid out for acquiring
76 Su-57.
The announcement was made during a meeting on May 15, 2019.
These jets are expected to be deployed by 2028.
The Kremlin previously planned to have 150 of these aircraft in service by 2020 and this
a major downgrade and schedule overrun.
But if we look at the overall picture, we can gauge the fact that Russia which is having
around 1/10 defense budget when compared to the U.S is seeing a military resurgence.