President Putin sends carrier battlegroup to Syria as spy ship surveys
internet cables
JAMIE SEIDEL ON OCTOBER
20TH
MOSCOW is sending a major aircraft
carrier battlegroup to conduct strike operations in Syria as one of its spy
ships appears to survey underwater internet cables in the troubled region.
Meanwhile
the aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov, Russia’s only remaining aircraft
carrier, is currently conducting live-fire exercises with its escort vessels in
the waters between Scotland and Norway as it makes its way towards the English
Channel and the Mediterranean after leaving its Arctic-circle base late last
week.
It
is expected to remain on-station off Syria for four-to-five months.
Ahead
of its arrival, the Russian oceanographic research vessel Yanatar was recently
observed passing out of the Black Sea through the narrow Bosphorus Strait. It
has since been tracked lingering above major undersea internet cables between
Cyprus and Syria in the same waters the carrier battle group is expected to
take-up position in later this month.
Meanwhile,
Norway’s frigate the Fridtjof Nansen and P-3 Orion aircraft are observing the
Russian fleet as it makes its way south. The 55,000 ton aircraft carrier is
being escorted by the large battlecruiser Peter the Great and five other
warships.
Russia
has notified Norwegian authorities that its fleet intends to conduct three days
of live-fire testing of its weaponry from later today, warning all vessels and
aircraft not to approach a designated sector of international waters in the
Norwegian Sea.
Commander
Daniel Thomassen, Commanding Officer of the frigate, has told Norwegian media
he has so far observed the Russians conducting anti-aircraft exercises and
flying-off advanced Su-33 strike fighters from the carrier’s deck.
GUNBOAT DIPLOMACY
Military
analysts say Russia has no practical need to send the aircraft carrier or
cruise-missile armed battlecruiser to Syria to support strike operations there.
Syria’s President Assad has already signed-over long-term leases for several
large air bases to Moscow.
But
the mere disruptive presence of the warships gives Putin the opportunity for
some significant political posturing. The impressions generated by of its size
and composition alone rivals that of the US Sixth Fleet which is assigned to
the region.
“This
is a task group which contains two of the most powerful surface warships in the
world,” says Kingston University historian and Russian navy observer Dr Alex
Clarke.
“The
question is though, why deploy all this firepower now? What’s more with a
Chinese frigate in the eastern Mediterranean, will that join up with the task
group?”
Dr
Clarke says such a move would be a demonstration of shifts in the balance of
world military power, particularly coming so close on the heels of major joint
Russian-Chinese exercises in the disputed South China Sea.
The
first such opportunity for posturing will come later this week when the fleet
is expected to fly its aircraft while close to UK and French airspace while
passing Britain on their way to the Bay of Biscay and the Straits of Gibraltar.
Britain’s
Royal Navy is scrambling to assemble sufficient ships and surveillance aircraft
to meet and observe the Russian ships as they pass.
But
the message is much bigger than that, Dr Clarke says: “They also know that the
more stretched western forces are, the more likely they are to get to do what
they like.
“President
Putin and Xi are laying down markers for the incoming US President; and they
are doing so while Barack Obama is still in charge, because they believe he
just won’t do anything about it.”
Dr
Clarke says the timing also coincides with the pending fall of the Islamic
State city of Mosul in Iraq, and the consequent shift in focus towards Syria.
“The
war against Daesh will be moving into Syria, more focus will be on there — just
as it is, there were will a large Russian led task force off its Mediterranean
coast. This is going to shift the balance of power within the area, even more
in favour of Assad; simply because it will complicate the task for other
nations wishing to support their own allies within the conflict.”
INTERNET ESPIONAGE?
Author
and military analyst H.I. Sutton is one of several observers who have noted the
unusual activity of a suspected Russian survey ship, the Yantar, in waters
between Cyprus, Syria, Lebanon and Turkey in recent weeks.
It’s
reported positions have been coinciding with the tracks of three major undersea
fibre-optic cables. Mr Sutton’s blog suggests
the extremely slow speed and frequent stopping of the ship suggest it could be
deploying a submersible to the sea floor.
Dr
Clarke says there is another possible explanation for the ship’s presence:
“Even if it is just conducting a hydrographic survey, this could be an
advantage for Russian submarines operating in the area, up to date knowledge of
the sea bed and currents can help with their ability to avoid detection.”
But this is not the first time fears have been
raised about Russian intentions to disrupt the world’s internet traffic.
Pentagon
officials last year noted a number of Russian submarines and warships had been
lingering in parts of the Atlantic Ocean containing arterial undersea
fibre-optic cables.
If
these cables were to be cut in such remote locations, it could take weeks — or
even months — to repair them.
This
could lead to enormous international economic
and government disruption, Dr Alexey Muraviev from Curtin University told
news.com.au.
He
said Russia had small covert submarines that gave them the capacity to damage
such cables, or attach equipment to tap into their data streams.
Kusnetsov
and its escorts are expected to join up to 10 Russian warships already off the
coast of Syria before the end of the month. The aircraft carrier is believed to
be carrying updated MiG-29K and Su-33 combat aircraft, as well as Ka-52K attack
helicopters. The ship is believed to have a capacity of between 40-50 aircraft.
Along
with the battlecruiser Peter the Great, two large anti-submarine destroyers
will be accompanying the fleet. Russian media suggests ‘several’ submarines
will also join the formation.
“Now
their tech is not the same level as the West at the moment, but that doesn’t
make it necessarily bad — in fact it has some advantages, and the Russians also
often pack more in. So when all that is combined these ships have to be treated
with a great level of respect,” Dr Clarke says.
MORE AT:
http://www.news.com.au/world/middle-east/president-putin-sends-carrier-battlegroup-to-syria-as-spy-ship-surveys-internet-cables/news-story/af09fca95dcf4216c80bd4341b7038a9
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