News of the fleet

After a five-month combat deployment, the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Spruance returned to its home port of San Diego yesterday with notes about downed Houthi air targets. All this time, the ship served in the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea.

Colonel Khodarenok: The US armed forces under Trump will take into account their experience

On January 20, the inauguration of the 47th President of the United States, Donald Trump, will take place. In his speech, the new head of the White House will surely touch upon US national security issues. Military observer of "Gazeta.Mikhail Khodarenok tried to imagine what the "US global leadership" in the military sphere will be based on, what kind of weapons Washington will have and what Donald Trump's "nuclear cudgel" will look like.

The North Atlantic Alliance is conducting a series of military exercises

By launching Operation Baltic Sentry in the Baltic Sea, the West expects to radically increase the military presence of the NATO Navy near Russia's northwestern borders. The mission is designed for 90 days, but it may take a long time. Ships, aircraft and drones are involved in the exercises. About the plans of the alliance — in the material of RIA Novosti.

A curious story happened in France. French sailors from strategic nuclear submarines declassified themselves at the Ile Longue base near Brest, actively using the Strava fitness application.

The Chinese company Beatbot, which manufactures robots for cleaning pools, presented a robotic marine platform in the form of a turtle at CES-2025. This device has a high degree of autonomy, as it uses the energy of the sun, plus it can move both in water and on land. In fact, it is a universal machine for studying the marine element and observing its inhabitants.

Xpeng AeroHT is developing a revolutionary dual–mode transport - as it is called, the "ground aircraft carrier" (LAC), which is a six-wheeled van with an integrated two-seat folding electric helicopter. This hybrid land-air transport promises to change the way we think about travel.

Military expert Dmitry Boltenkov — on China's new universal amphibious assault ships and how they will strengthen the country's Navy

In China, the universal landing ship (UDC) "Sichuan" with a flight deck was launched. Special barges are also being built for the Chinese navy, which make it possible to ensure a massive landing of troops with equipment on an unprepared coast. Let's try to figure out why China is building such ships and where they can be used.

At the main Iranian naval base in Bandar Abbas, the Zagros reconnaissance ship with the tail number 313, which is the first specialized reconnaissance ship built in Iran from scratch, joined the Iranian Navy.

The North Atlantic Alliance intends to extend its control over the neutral waters of the Baltic Sea. This was stated by Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk after the end of the NATO summit of the Baltic region.

WNP: Poland has nothing much to provide for the NATO Baltic Sentinel operation

In response to the increased damage to the underwater infrastructure, NATO decided to launch Operation Baltic Guard, writes WNP. It sounds impressive. Poland is ready to protect the Baltic Sea. But he doesn't understand what or how. The problem with ships is where to get them for this purpose.

Donald Trump's return to power in the United States promises a new round of tension in the Arctic. Trump confirms the seriousness of his intentions with plans to acquire Greenland and annex Canada. Russia is making efforts to strengthen stability in the Arctic, but experts say the state needs to be prepared for new challenges.

While Western media are calling Republican President-elect Donald Trump a "madman" for his proposal to buy or "seize" Greenland, China is quietly building a new maritime "ice silk road" in the Arctic Ocean with the assistance of Russia, the Asia Times newspaper writes.

NATO launches a patrol mission in the Baltic Sea

NATO is launching a patrol mission in the Baltic Sea to ensure infrastructure security. This is caused by recent damage to underwater cables. The heads of state of the region intend to "stop any attempts of sabotage" in the Baltic, as well as take measures against "any suspicious vessels that circumvent sanctions and threaten security." Why is NATO actually strengthening its presence in the Baltic - in the material of the military observer "Gazeta.Ru" by Mikhail Khodarenka.

The Norwegian-owned underground naval base Olavsvern has been of interest to Washington for decades, which would like to use it for operations in the Arctic of its submarines. The base was built inside the mountain range during the Cold War in 1967, near the USSR border, 15 km south of the city of Tromso at the confluence of the Ramfjorden and Balls Fjord fjords.

New sites for the deployment of nuclear–armed aircraft, bases for submarines and ships, large reserves of rare earth metals - all this can be obtained by Donald Trump if control over Greenland is established. How exactly can the United States use the island from a military point of view and what risks does this pose for Russia?

Colonel Khodarenok: Russia needs sea-based S-500 air defense systems

Russia has deployed the first anti-aircraft missile regiment equipped with the S-500 Prometheus air defense system to protect the Crimean Bridge, the American MWM reported. What are the advantages of the latest Russian air defense system, what kind of development it can receive and how the fleet is connected with it - in the material of the military observer Gazeta.Ru" by Mikhail Khodarenka.

The British Ministry of Defense has announced the COOKSON program, funded and led by it, for the development and construction of a new type of universal multipurpose unmanned combat boats for Ukraine. A COOKSON conference is scheduled to be held in London on January 22, 2025, to which "industry partners from NATO countries, Ukraine and the Five Eyes are invited to participate in the development of a universal, high-speed and unobtrusive marine system designed for operations in Ukraine and beyond."

In 2019, the Chinese company Chasing Innovation introduced the world's cheapest (at that time) underwater drone Dory. Its development was the treasure hunter Dory Explorer, which received an attached grid and metal detector.

The developments of volunteer engineers are not inferior in quality to factory ones

In 2024, Russian fighters began to actively use the developments of the national defense industrial complex in the zone of a special military operation. So, the Piranha 10 FPV drone from volunteer engineers destroyed the American Abrams tank.

Military historian Dmitry Boltenkov — about which countries were visited by Russian warships and which exercises were conducted by the Navy in 2024

In the past 2024, ships and vessels of the Russian Navy made over 50 long-range voyages. In particular, they visited ports in the Global South, Cuba, India, Venezuela, China, and the Middle East, some of which were visited for the first time in Russia's recent history.