MOSCOW - Russian warships and bombers took part in military manoeuvres off the Atlantic coast of France and Spain on Tuesday in what Moscow billed as its biggest navy exercise in the area since Soviet times.
Russia sent two long-range "Blackjack" bombers to the Bay of Biscay to carry out a simulated electronic test-firing of cruise missiles, while anti-submarine aircraft patrolled the area.
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File photo of a Tupolev-160 "Blackjack" strategic bomber taking off at a military airfield in Priluky. Russian warships and bombers took part in military manoeuvres off the Atlantic coast of France and Spain on Tuesday in what Moscow billed as its biggest navy exercise in the area since Soviet times. (REUTERS/Mikhail Chernichkin/Files) |
The exercise off the coast of two NATO alliance members is the latest Kremlin demonstration of resurgent military muscle on the world stage and likely to appeal to voters choosing a successor to President Vladimir Putin in March.
Putin, expected to retain considerable influence in the country on stepping down after a maximum second term, has done much to rebuild forces depleted after the collapse of communism. For years, commanders had complained ships could not put to sea and warplanes could not fly because of fuel and parts shortages.
Russia's air force said British and Norwegian Tornado and F-16 jets shadowed the Russian aircraft. France said it had been informed about the exercises.
Russian Tupolev Tu-160 bombers joined an aircraft carrier group, submarine hunters and a battleship from the Northern and Black Sea fleets for the exercises.
"The air force is taking a very active part in the exercises of the navy's strike force in the Atlantic," Russia's air force spokesman said.
He said there would only be an electronic simulated test launch of cruise missiles, clarifying an earlier statement which said missiles would be test-launched.
SABRE RATTLING
A former KGB lieutenant-colonel, Putin has renewed long-range bomber missions and approved a plan to upgrade Russia's nuclear attack forces, which he said was needed after NATO built up its forces close to Russia's borders.
But some analysts note that while the sabre rattling is popular at home, Russian military spending in absolute terms is substantially lower than that of China, Britain or France and less than a tenth of that of the United States.
"Russia is making some rather modest steps in its military development but is using these steps for inappropriate propaganda, and that propaganda is for internal consumption," Moscow-based military analyst Alexander Golts said.
Discipline is still a major problem for Russia's armed forces, which rely heavily on conscripts and outdated equipment.
Russia last month said it would begin major navy sorties into the Mediterranean, with 11 ships backed up by 47 aircraft, that would then travel to the Atlantic for exercises.
The navy's flagship aircraft carrier, the Soviet-made Admiral Kuznetsov, was leading the fleet in the Atlantic where NATO aircraft were trying to keep a close eye on Russian movements, Russian media reported.
"This is the biggest exercise of its kind in the area since Soviet times," a spokesman for Russia's navy said.
Russia's air force said turbo-prop Tupolev Tu-95 strategic bombers, codenamed "Bear" by NATO, would join the exercise on Wednesday, along with at least another five types of aircraft
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