Russia

Russia’s AK-12 has Passed Field Tests and is Ready for Deployment

The Russian AK-12 assault rifle is ready to become the new standard weapon of the Russian armed forces, has passed military field tests and now meets all of the Russian armed forces’ design and operational standards, according to Jane’s 360.

The AK-12’s success in military trials sets it up to become the standard weapon for soldiers in Russia’s Ratnik — or Warrior — future weapon system.
Work on the AK-12 began in 2011 with the AK-200 as a base model. Kalashnikov Concern presented prototypes in early 2012, and the first generation of the weapon was also successful in military tests.
However, according to Jane’s, the Russian military requested design alterations and wanted the new weapon to be cheaper to make. The company then produced the second-generation version of the weapon, using a 5.45 mm round with the AK-400 as its base model. The second-generation model also addressed issues regarding full-automatic fire.
The 5.45 mm AK-12 is being developed with the 7.62 mm AK-15 — both of which are to be teamed with the 5.45 mm RPK-16 light support weapon. The Russian military has also been testing A545 and A762 assault rifles — 5.45 mm and 7.62 mm, respectively — made by Kovrov Mechanical Works.
Both the AK-12 and the AK-15 keep some traditional Kalashnikov features and are compatible with magazines used by earlier versions of the AK-74 and the AKM rifles, according to Modern Firearms. The new weapons are designed to offer better accuracy in all conditions, can be fitted with add-ons like sighting equipment and bayonets, and can carry a 40 mm grenade launcher under the barrel.
Arms experts have said the AK-12 is not a grand departure from the AK-74, which is the current standard weapon for the Russian military.
“There are improvements but very modest on the background of excessive expectations triggered by a media campaign,” Mikhail Degtyarev, editor-in-chief of Kalashnikov magazine, told Army Recognition in May, making specific mention of ergonomic improvements.
Nor do observers see the wholesale replacement of the AK-74 on the horizon, as that weapon is “a very successful design but … needs modernization,” military expert Viktor Murakhovsky toldArmy Recognition. “It is necessary to considerably improve combat engagement convenience, including ergonomics, and provide a possibility to mount additional devices.”
Alongside the AK-12/AK-15 package, Kalashnikov Concern has been working on an AK-74 upgrade that includes a folding and telescoping stock, rails for add-ons, and a more ergonomic fire selector and handgrip.

The Russians are working on many improvements for the armed forces and their current projects mirror many programs that the US is also working on. Included are an exoskeleton, body armor and armored suit similar to the TAOS project.

To read the entire article from Business Insider click here:

Photo courtesy Wikimedia

Russian Ally Kyrgyzstan Received Missile Threats to Close US Base

Kyrgyzstan President Almazbek Atambayev said Monday that his nation was threatened with missile attacks by a foreign power if he didn’t close an air base that the US had in Kyrgyzstan territory.

“I will not hide that some countries warned us that they are ready, should it be the case that it is necessary, to conduct a missile strike on the U.S. air base deployed on our territory,” Atambayev said at a press conference in his country’s north.
Atambayev did not say which countries were behind the threat to the former Soviet republic which borders China and Kazakhstan. A Russian military ally since the 1990s, Kyrgyzstan is a member of Russia’s Collective Security Treaty Organization—Moscow’s analog to NATO.
The U.S. facility was opened in 2001 with the aim of supporting NATO operations in nearby Afghanistan; Kyrgyzstan closed it in 2014.
“Our people were under serious danger until [it was closed],” Atambayev said Monday, Russian state news agency Itar-Tass reports. Meanwhile, Kyrgyzstan has one Russian air base on its territory—the Kant base—and recently Atambayev told Russian President Vladimir Putin that he would endorse another such base on his nation’s territory, in an apparent swipe at neighbors Tajikistan and Uzbekistan’s ability to halt the Taliban.
“I would not be afraid if Russia deployed a second base in Kyrgyzstan on the Tajikistan border,” he added. “Russia is not readying to take our territory. It has enough of its own. We risk nothing, and in this way we would defend ourselves, but the decision will have to be taken by Russia, taking into account its own abilities.”
The Kyrgyz leader voiced skepticism that Moscow would spare the funds for another air base in his country, having received a cold response when he raised the issue with Putin last month. He also said that the most recent agreement about the Kant base will see a reduction in the deployment period of Russian troops in Kyrgyzstan, from 74 years to 15.

To read the entire article from Newsweek click here:

Photo courtesy US Air Force

USSOCOM Thomas, “Russia Could Help Expel US From Syria”

General Raymond Thomas, commander of USSOCOM said on Friday that the Russians hold the advantage of possibly expelling US forces from Syria.

He said that because of international law and the fact that the Syrian government under President Assad has not invited the US into his country, the Russians who are Assad’s top ally could eventually force American troops out.

Addressing a security conference at the Aspen Institute, Special Operations Command chief Army General Raymond Thomas said that, while counterterrorism remained a priority for his forces, international law could prevent the U.S. from maintaining a long-term presence in Syria, where its intervention has been declared illegal by the government. Russia is also involved in the fight against the Islamic State militant group (ISIS) and other jihadists in Syria, but entered at the request of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, something that Thomas said could allow Moscow to make a solid case for the U.S.’s departure.
“Here’s the conundrum: We are operating in the sovereign country of Syria. The Russians, their stalwarts, their backstoppers have already uninvited the Turks from Syria. We’re a bad day away from the Russians saying, ‘Why are you still in Syria, U.S.?,'” Thomas said.
“If the Russians play that card, we could want to stay and have no ability to do it,” he added.
The U.S. and Russia are both battling ISIS in Syria, but they back different factions that hold opposing views on Syria’s political future. The U.S. backs the Syrian Democratic Forces, which Thomas said Special Forces helped name in order to distance themselves from the Kurdish nationalist People’s Protection Units (YPG). Thomas also confirmed that the CIA has cut ties with other Syrian rebel groups that have attempted to overthrow Assad since 2011. Russia and Iran support the Syrian military and its allies, which reject the national aspirations of Kurdish groups, the ultraconservative Sunni Muslim ideology of jihadists and calls for political upheaval by the opposition.

The US and other coalition forces have not been actively targeting Syrian government forces, instead focusing on the fighters of the Islamic State, however, they’ve come under attack from Syrian forces which the US responded.

Syria also conducted a chemical weapons attack on civilians and the US responded by attacking the base where the chemical weapons originated from, something both the Syrians and Russia adamantly deny happened.

The US and Russia, for now, have an uneasy ceasefire in the Southwest part of the country, something Israel says helps no one except Iran, who also has sent troops to ostensibly help Assad but are building bases close to the border with Israel.

Once the battle with ISIS (Islamic State) is complete and they’ve been ousted from the country, there will no doubt be calls from Syria and Russia for the coalition troops to leave.

To read the entire article from Newsweek click here:

Photo courtesy DOD

The Latest Cyber War Developments Have a New, Worrisome Twist

United States national security officials looking into Russian cyber-meddling of the recent elections are seeing that the recent “ransomware” cyber-attacks are part of an increasing problem. Hackers are now not just in the business of ransom but in chaos and disruption of the internet.

The goals are to disrupt signaling capabilities, disruption of normal systems and demonstrate the instability of the Western democracies. And some say it IS time to worry.

A number of analysts described the Petya/NotPetya incident of June and the WannaCry event in May as ransom attacks, aimed at gaining as much bitcoin as possible. But our analysis of cyber-coercion highlights how ransomware events such as the Petya are often strategically motivated and less about gaining funds than they are about sending a signal. The primary goal instead appears to be limited destruction through malware wiping systems.
North Korea and Russia are the likely originators of these attacks. What’s the motivation, beyond simply the chaos factor? For Russia, the Petya attack could be a means of encouraging the perception of Ukraine as a failed state — a view that aligns with Russian interests.
Cyber-operations amplify larger psychological warfare efforts. North Korea’s goal, most likely, could be to cause general chaos in Western systems, as a means of signaling strength — and its capacity to escalate in any future crisis.
In addition to propaganda, states use cyber-operations to influence elections and conduct disruption operations. Russian interference in the elections of Western states has become so common it is now expected. But instead of just disrupting elections, Russia now seems to be leveraging cyberespionage and propaganda to generate larger crises.
Russia now appears to be using Ukraine as more than a testing ground for cyberwar — it is demonstrating its ability to disrupt faith in public institutions. While the resulting crises after a cyber-event risk inadvertent escalation, the real danger is the erosion of cyber norms. With each new cyber-disruption, the shock decreases, and we grow to expect disorder. The resulting uncertainty and chaos undermines our trust in the open Internet architecture and risks upsetting stability inherent in cyber-exchanges to date.

To read the entire article from The Washington Post, click here:

Photo courtesy Wikipedia

Poland to Buy Patriot Missiles From the US, On Eve of Trump Visit

Poland’s Defense Minister Antoni Macierewicz said on Wednesday evening that they’ve struck a deal with the United States to purchase Patriot Missile Systems.

“A memorandum was signed tonight that the U.S. government has agreed to sell Poland Patriot missiles in the most modern configuration,” Macierewicz said in a news conference broadcast on public television on Thursday morning.
“I am glad that I can pass on this information on the day of President’s Trump visit to Warsaw,” Macierewicz also said.
U.S. President Donald Trump arrived on Wednesday in Warsaw where the White House said he would showcase his commitment to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in a speech and in meetings with a group of nations closest to Russia on his way to the G20 summit in Germany on Friday and Saturday.
In March Poland said it expected to sign a deal worth up to $7.6 billion with U.S. firm Raytheon to buy eight Patriot missile defense systems by the end of the year.
Warsaw sees the deal as central to a thorough modernization of its armed forces by 2023.

Poland, the former communist nation that shares a border with Russia, is one of the few NATO members that meet the alliance’s defense spending target of 2 percent of economic output.

The MIM-104 Patriot is a surface-to-air missile (SAM) system, the primary of its kind used by the United States Army and several allied nations. Manufactured by the U.S. defense contractor Raytheon, it derives its name from the radar component of the weapon system. The AN/MPQ-53 at the heart of the system is known as the “Phased Array Tracking Radar to Intercept on Target” which is a where the “PATRIOT” name is derived.

It was used against SCUDs during the Gulf War and the Israelis used it to shoot down an SU-24 from the Syrian Air Force when it penetrated Israel’s airspace.

The first deliveries of the missile interceptors, which have been a source of tension between NATO and Russia, may take place within two years.

To read the entire article from Reuters click here:

Photo courtesy US Army

With ISIS Defeat Looming in Syria, Iraq, US Strategy Has to Define Next Step

American-backed ground forces are poised to recapture Mosul in Iraq and Raqqah in Syria, the Islamic State’s de facto capitals. But while U.S. commanders are confident they soon will vanquish the militant group from its self-declared caliphate after three years of fighting, Washington has not defined a strategy in the next step for stabilizing the region.

The Trump administration faces key decisions about safe zones, reconstruction, governmental control in the area, easing sectarian tensions and commitment of U.S. troops among other considerations.

Nor has the Trump administration set policy for how it will confront forces from Iran and Russia, the two outside powers that arguably gained the most in the bitter conflict — and that now are hoping to collect the spoils and expand their influence.
Iran, in particular, is pushing to secure a land corridor from its western border across Iraq and Syria and up to Lebanon, where it supports Hezbollah militants, giving it a far larger foothold in the turbulent region.
“Right now everyone is positioned” for routing Islamic State “without having the rules of the road,” said Michael Yaffe, a former State Department envoy for the Middle East who is now vice president of the Middle East and Africa center at the U.S. Institute of Peace. “That’s a dangerous situation.”
The risk of a broader confrontation was clear in recent weeks when a U.S. F/A-18 shot down a Syrian fighter jet for the first time in the multi-sided six-year war, provoking an angry response from Russia, which supports Syrian President Bashar Assad.
U.S. warplanes also destroyed two Iranian-made drone aircraft, although it’s not clear who was flying them. The Pentagon said all the attacks were in self-defense as the aircraft approached or fired on American forces or U.S.-backed Syrian fighters.
“What I worry about is the muddled mess scenario,” said Ilan Goldenberg, a former senior State Department official who now heads the Middle East program at the nonpartisan Center for a New American Security. “When you start shooting down planes and running into each other, it quickly goes up the escalation ladder.”
U.S. commanders say thousands of American troops should stay in Iraq to bolster the Iraqi army, which collapsed and fled when the militants first arrived on pickup trucks in 2014, three years after President Obama withdrew most U.S. troops from the country.
A tougher challenge lies in Syria, where the U.S. military has not been invited by the government and has no large fixed bases. The Pentagon has deployed hundreds of special operations forces and conventional troops to support the Syrian Democratic Forces, a coalition of Kurdish and Arab rebel groups that oppose Assad.
If the U.S. military pulls out, it could give a green light to Assad and Iran’s forces to turn their firepower on the U.S.-backed militias, potentially a nightmare scenario.
Pressure is growing on Capitol Hill for the White House to articulate a longer-term strategy for when the Islamic State threat has been neutralized.

Routing the Islamic State out of those countries is the first step but there are other concerns once that is accomplished. Hezbollah which has sided with Assad’s forces in the civil war is emboldened now and is pushing to escalate the war by attacking Israel. There will be no easy answers for Washington as peace and stability in the region will be very hard to come by.

To read the entire article from The Los Angeles Times click here:

Photo courtesy Wikipedia

Syria, Russia Accuse US of “Provocation” in Chemical Weapons Attack

The latest war of words between Washington, Moscow, and Damascus occurred on Thursday. The Syrian government of President Assad along with their Russian allies accused the United States of manufacturing a “provocation” in Syria. This was to be blamed on Assad and his government of preparing a chemical weapons attack as an excuse for the US and the coalition troops to attack.

The Syrian Foreign Ministry described the US allegations as “misleading” and “completely baseless.” It strongly stated that they reject the US’ claims that Syria is preparing for another chemical attack. The Syrians claim, that they’ve never used chemical weapons at all.

It said the objective of such allegations was to “justify a new aggression on Syria under ill-founded pretexts,” similar to what happened in April when the U.S. struck a Syrian air base, which it said had been used to stage a chemical attack on the town of Khan Sheikhoun that killed nearly 90.
Earlier this week, the White House has warned that Assad is preparing for another chemical attack and said that the Syrian ruler will “pay a heavy price” if he unleashes it.
Also Thursday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Moscow has received information that Syrian rebels have already fabricated video materials to accuse Damascus of a chemical attack.
She said that according to the information Russia has, Syrian towns of Saraqib and Arihah could serve as venues for the “provocation.” Both towns are located in the province of Idlib in northwestern Syria and are controlled by the rebels.
She claimed that such action could be aimed at derailing the next round of Syria peace talks brokered by Russia, Turkey and Iran, which is set for next week in Kazakhstan’s capital, Astana. The meeting is meant to determine specifics related to safety zones in Syria.
Zakharova’s strongly-worded statement reflect soaring tensions between Moscow and Washington even as U.S. President Donald Trump and Russia’s Vladimir Putin are expected to hold their first meeting at the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Germany.
The U.S. in April struck the Shayrat air base in central Syria, which it said had been used to stage a chemical attack on the town of Khan Sheikhoun. The Pentagon said the preparations detected by the U.S. occurred at the same Shayrat air base which the U.S. named as the platform for launching the April attack.
The Syrian government has denied it ever used banned chemicals, and it rejected Washington’s latest allegations.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Larionov was asked by the press what the Russian response would be if the Syrians are indeed attacked again by the US, and he stated only “proportionate.”

To read the entire article from the ABC News, click here:

Photo courtesy Wikipedia

Nikki Haley Tells Congress that Iran Would Supply Nukes to Terrorists

America’s top diplomat at the United Nations, Nikki Haley told members of Congress on Tuesday that the government of President Trump is worried that Iran will not only give nuclear weapons to terror groups but do so with tacit Russia approval.

That bit of news is something that has some Republicans in the House asking if a regime change something that may be considered.

U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley told a House Appropriations subcommittee that she believes the Iran nuclear agreement reached under the Obama administration will only “delay something that’s going to happen,” which is Iran’s achievement of a nuclear weapon. She said that poses the risk that Iran could share that technology with terrorist groups it supports.
“They’re going to continue their nuclear capabilities and we just gave them a lot of money to do it with,” she said. “And my concern is they are associating with are all the groups we’re trying to defeat.”
“So, not only did we give that capability to Iran, we are now giving it to those terrorist organizations we’re trying to defeat,” she added.
Haley told lawmakers that Iran has escalated its support for a pair of terrorist organizations on the borders of Israel, aided by the influx of money that followed the easing of sanctions under the Iranian nuclear agreement. She conceded that Iran is not committing “any violations” of the nuclear deal, but said the regime is defying international resolutions against the development of ballistic missiles designed to carry nuclear weapons.
Haley added that her efforts to rally international opposition to Iran are hamstrung by Russia’s willingness to block U.N. Security Council resolutions censuring Iran. “Yes, we would love to sanction Iran; and, yes we will continue to be loud about it; and, yes, Russia will veto it,” she said.

Although President Trump has stated that the Iran is abiding by the agreement made with the US, he’s considering scrapping the deal that President Obama made with Iran. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson notified members of Congress and stated that Iran is still a leader in state-sponsored terrorism. And he added that the administration is looking into whether the pact is vital to US security interests.

To read the entire article from the Washington Examiner click here:

Photos courtesy White House

Western Companies Bowing to Russian Demands to Share Cyber Secrets

There are a growing number of Western technology companies, including Cisco, IBM, and SAP, that are caving to demands by Moscow for access to closely guarded product security secrets.

What the Russians are demanding is that Western tech companies to allow them to review source code for security products such as firewalls, anti-virus applications and software containing encryption. This must be done they say before they’ll allow the products to be imported and sold in the country. These “requests”, which have increased since 2014, are done, according to the Russians to ensure foreign spy agencies have not hidden any “backdoors” that would allow them to burrow into Russian systems.

The timing of these demands by the Russians comes at a particularly sticky time when Russia has been accused of a growing number of cyber-attacks on the West, including the recent US Presidential election.

But those inspections also provide the Russians an opportunity to find vulnerabilities in the products’ source code – instructions that control the basic operations of computer equipment – current and former U.S. officials and security experts said.
While a number of U.S. firms say they are playing ball to preserve their entree to Russia’s huge tech market, at least one U.S. firm, Symantec, told Reuters it has stopped cooperating with the source code reviews over security concerns. That halt has not been previously reported.
Symantec said one of the labs inspecting its products was not independent enough from the Russian government.
U.S. officials say they have warned firms about the risks of allowing the Russians to review their products’ source code, because of fears it could be used in cyber attacks. But they say they have no legal authority to stop the practice unless the technology has restricted military applications or violates U.S. sanctions.
From their side, companies say they are under pressure to acquiesce to the demands from Russian regulators or risk being shut out of a lucrative market. The companies say they only allow Russia to review their source code in secure facilities that prevent code from being copied or altered.
If tech firms do decline the FSB’s source code requests, then approval for their products can be indefinitely delayed or denied outright, U.S. trade attorneys and U.S. officials said. The Russian information technology market is expected to be worth $18.4 billion this year, according to market researcher International Data Corporation (IDC).
Six current and former U.S. officials who have dealt with companies on the issue said they are suspicious about Russia’s motives for the expanded reviews.
“It’s something we have a real concern about,” said a former senior Commerce Department official who had direct knowledge of the interaction between U.S. companies and Russian officials until he left office this year. “You have to ask yourself what it is they are trying to do, and clearly they are trying to look for information they can use to their advantage to exploit, and that’s obviously a real problem.”
However, none of the officials who spoke to Reuters could point to specific examples of hacks or cyber espionage that were made possible by the review process.
Source code requests are not unique to Russia. In the United States, tech companies allow the government to audit source code in limited instances as part of defense contracts and other sensitive government work. China sometimes also requires source code reviews as a condition to import commercial software, U.S. trade attorneys say.

Although there have been numerous reports that he didn’t say this now…but it is worth repeating, just in case, Vladimir Illich Lenin has been quoted that “We will hang the last capitalist with the rope they sell us.”

To read the entire article from the Reuters click here:

Photos courtesy Reuters video

Australia Suspends Flights Over Syria After Russian Warning

Australia has suspended air combat missions over Syria after Russia had threatened that it would treat any plane from the US-led coalition flying west of the Euphrates River as a potential target.

This was in the aftermath of a US F-18 shooting down a Syrian SU-22 on Sunday after the pilot bombed pro-coalition SDF forces outside of Raqqa. The US and coalition forces have tried to steer clear of the Syrian troops of the embattled government of President Assad. They’ve tried to target only the Islamic State (IS) who held sizable portions of the country.

The Australians have six fighters stationed in the UAE (United Arab Emirates) that have been used in combat operations against both Syria and Iraq. But for now, they have stopped operations over Syria, “as a precautionary measure.”

A spokesman for the Department of Defence told the ABC that the situation would be monitored and sorties over Iraq would continue. “Australian defence force personnel are closely monitoring the air situation in Syria and a decision on the resumption of ADF air operations in Syria will be made in due course,” he said.
The UK Ministry of Defence said it would continue its operations against Isis as part of the US-led coalition in Syria.
Moscow’s warning on Monday to US-allied warplanes west of the Euphrates escalated the threat of a direct Russian-American confrontation in Syria, following the first US shooting down of a fighter jet belonging to the regime since the start of the civil war six years ago.
Russia stressed it would in future be tracking the coalition’s jets, not shooting them down, but added that “a threat for those jets may appear only if they take action that poses a threat to Russian aircraft”.
Moscow’s foreign ministry said: “All kinds of airborne vehicles, including aircraft and UAVs [unmanned aerial vehicles] of the international coalition, detected to the west of the Euphrates river will be tracked by the Russian SAM systems as air targets.”

The US’ General Joseph Dunford had stated that “we made every effort to warn those individuals not to come any closer and then the commander made a judgment that it was a threat to the forces that we are supporting and took action.”

Meanwhile, the war of words between the US and Russia continues to escalate as the civil war grinds on in Syria.

To read the entire article from The Guardian, click here:

Photo courtesy US DOD