Russia Rattles it's Saber.

[djones520]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,378065,00.html

MOSCOW —  Russia will be forced to make a military response if the U.S.-Czech missile defense agreement is ratified, the Foreign Ministry said Tuesday.

The statement came hours after U.S. and Czech officials reached an initial agreement on deploying elements of a missile defense system in the Eastern European country.

Russia says the system would severely undermine European security balances by weakening Russia's missile capacity.

If the agreement is ratified, "we will be forced to react not with diplomatic, but with military-technical methods," the Foreign Ministry statement said. It did not give specifics of what the response would entail.

In February, then-President Vladimir Putin said Russia could aim missiles toward prospective missile defense sites and deploy missiles in the Baltic Sea region of Kaliningrad, which borders Poland, if the missile defense plan went forward.

The U.S. has pushed the plan as necessary to prevent missile attacks by rogue nations, pointing to Iran as a particular concern. But Russia dismisses the likelihood of such threats.

My only thought is "So?".

As if they still don't have a number of nukes pointed are way. 

[DumbAss Tanker]

Short of re-invading Eastern Eupope, it's kind of hard to see how this threatens anything they don't already have the unrestrained power to implement in an hour.  If anything, it seems it would underline to the Czechs why they might need a missile defense facing East. 

[Chris_]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,378065,00.html

My only thought is "So?".

As if they still don't have a number of nukes pointed are way. 
[/quote]

I suspect that the real issue is, how many would actually function if used.........it is my understanding that nukes are "high maintenance" weapons, and the Russians aren't noted for their maintenance capabilities.....particularly since they have been, until recent oil revenues started coming in....unable to regularly meet their military payrolls......

doc

[DumbAss Tanker]

Nukes require more maintenance and constant rebuilding than a 50-year-old English sports car engine, however the Russkiis no doubt stiffed the troops, ship, and aircraft crews to pay the bills on that.  It's a little-known fact in the civilian West, but the Soviet military was divided into five separate branches rather than the typical three in most Western nations, which made it much easier to figure out who to keep paying - Red Army, Red Air Force, Red Navy, PVO-Stranii (Air Defense Forces), or the Strategic Rocket Forces.

[Airwolf]

I have no doubt that The Russkies kept the missiles up to date . They seem to forget that we too have plenty left in our own silos and subs to bury them in radioactive waste for the next 10,000 years or so.

[djones520]

I have no doubt that The Russkies kept the missiles up to date . They seem to forget that we too have plenty left in our own silos and subs to bury them in radioactive waste for the next 10,000 years or so.

I doubt they've forgotten.  They just don't like the fact that we now have a pretty reliable means to counter them, but they don't for us.  Thats whats with all the empty posturing.

[Airwolf]

I have no doubt that The Russkies kept the missiles up to date . They seem to forget that we too have plenty left in our own silos and subs to bury them in radioactive waste for the next 10,000 years or so.

I doubt they've forgotten.  They just don't like the fact that we now have a pretty reliable means to counter them, but they don't for us.  Thats whats with all the empty posturing.

True. Its hard to be happy when you have fallen from the top. It must realy twist their panties to know they can't get a decent fleet to sea and most of their air force is waiting to become canned beets. Their Army while still large isn't going to move without food or cash to pay for their service.

[Chris_]

I have no doubt that The Russkies kept the missiles up to date . They seem to forget that we too have plenty left in our own silos and subs to bury them in radioactive waste for the next 10,000 years or so.

I doubt they've forgotten.  They just don't like the fact that we now have a pretty reliable means to counter them, but they don't for us.  Thats whats with all the empty posturing.

True. Its hard to be happy when you have fallen from the top. It must realy twist their panties to know they can't get a decent fleet to sea and most of their air force is waiting to become canned beets. Their Army while still large isn't going to move without food or cash to pay for their service.

And their once-feared "boomer" fleet is rotting at the pier.......

doc

[Airwolf]

The last I heard and it maybe wrong but , Their Typhoon SSBN subs are now down to around 3 usable subs. And to think most of America was scared crapless when "The Hunt For Red October" came out.

[Chris_]

The last I heard and it maybe wrong but , Their Typhoon SSBN subs are now down to around 3 usable subs. And to think most of America was scared crapless when "The Hunt For Red October" came out.

I think the end of their era as a submarine power came when they tested their new rocket-powered hyper torpedo, and blew the bow off of the "Kirsk" (at least I think that was the vessels name)......

doc