A final personal word on this source: some years ago, when a few of us amateurs were collectively tearing our hair out trying to sort out the hopelessly confusing weapons designation conventions pouring out of the Russian Federation, someone made the joke that the Russians could make a great deal of money simply selling a guide to their military-industrial complex and its products. At an annual print subscription price of $144, and a seven-volume Russia's Arms Catalog set running $2,495, could Military Parade and its glossy brethren be yet more examples of life imitating someone's idea of a joke?

2 Sept 1998: U.S.-Russia Agreement on Ballistic Missile Proliferation: Presidents Clinton and Yeltsin have reportedly reached an understanding regarding development of ballistic missiles in the Third World. Under this understanding, Russia and the U.S. will share intelligence on all third-party ballistic missile launches, for testing purposes or otherwise. (Source: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)

1 Sept 1998: Naval escort of missiles to Cyprus. The controversial delivery of S-300 (NATO SA-10 Grumble) surface-to-air missiles will reportedly be accomplished by sea, according to reports. A Russian carrier battle group centered on Admiral Kuznetsov, and including the new missile cruiser BCGN Kirov-4 Pyotr Velikiy, will escort the S-300s to their final destination during their scheduled Mediterranean deployment. This may be the first major deployment of a Northern Fleet carrier battle group since early 1996. (Source: Jane's Intelligence Review)

11 Aug 1998: Russian naval force levels in Ukraine. The Russian fleet presence on Ukrainian soil, according to final treaty terms, is to be as follows: total manpower 25,000 (2,000 naval infantry), 338 ships, 106 aircraft, 6 C2 installations, 22 commo installations, 9 support depots, 5 ammunition depots, and 3 repair docks. All installations will be operated by the Russian Navy under lease from Ukraine. In addition, no nuclear weapons are to be deployed on Ukrainian soil. Russian naval nuclear weapons have reportedly been withdrawn to Novorossiysk for storage. (Source: Monitor)

29 July 1998: Who Bought the Varyag? The popular game of guess-what's-going-to-happen-to-the-Russian-aircraft-carrier has gone mainstream -- ABC News recently reported some curious circumstances surrounding the sale of the Varyag. Supposedly, the partially-completed #2 hull in the Kuznetsov class was to become a floating hotel/disco/casino in Macao; however, further investigation by ABC has revealed that those plans had been previously disapproved by Macao harbor authorities. So why did the sale proceed anyway? ABC suggests a possible connection to the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN)...though Varyag herself will probably never put to sea, could she be reverse-engineered as part of China's "aircraft carrier by 2010" development plan? (Source: ABC News) Because of the media attention, this sale is likely to be stillborn -- Varyag never departed Nikolayev as she was supposed to. (Source: Monitor)

7 July 1998: Assorted Items to Launch from Your SSBN, Part II. The Northern Fleet Delta IV SSBN Novomoskovsk successfully launched a satellite into orbit from a submerged launch point in the Barents Sea. This is reportedly the first event of its kind in the world. (Subsequent investigation by Robert Burns has revealed that this is not so. Thanks Robert.) The Tubsat-N satellite, carried aboard an SS-N-23 missile, was developed by the Berlin Technical University for communications and scientific purposes. More to come: the giant multinational "Sea Launch" consortium, which involves the Boeing Company and Energiya, plans a similar October sea-based satellite launch. Cf. the 1997 report of a strategic missile disposal carried out by launching the thing from a Typhoon SSBN. (Source: Monitor, Usenet report)

7 July 1998: Kravchenko reports to Moscow. Admiral Viktor Kravchenko, who has been at the helm of the Black Sea Fleet for the past few years, left that billet and reported as the new Chief of the Main Naval Staff. Succeeding him as CinC-BSF is Vice-Admiral Vladimir Komoyedov, formerly First Deputy CinC-Northern Fleet. (Source: Monitor)

July 1998: Frigates to India. The Baltic Shipyard announced the inking of a three-vessel deal with the Indian Navy, construction to begin by the end of the year. The new frigates reportedly displace 4,000 tons and "evidently represent a new class" of warship, according to the Jamestown Monitor. The vessels are to be delivered by 2002. (Source: Monitor)

June 1998: "Amur Family Submarines" - Y. Kormilitsin, Rubin Marine Design Bureau. Background and history of the new fourth-generation SSK. An interesting note is that the "Shkval" rocket-torpedo is being contemplated as part of its armament. There appear to be five separate export specifications, each displacing anywhere between 550 and 1,850 tons. (Source: MILITARY PARADE)

5 May 1998: Tighter export controls? According to a spokesman, President Yeltsin has ordered new measures aimed at erecting stricter monitoring requirements for the export of dual-use or military technologies. (Source: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)

May-June 1998: "Russian Export Submarines: Striking Power, Reliability, and Stealthiness" A historical overview of Soviet and Russian SSKs, including a description of Russian SSK development plans through 2015. In a nutshell, the fourth-generation 636 Kilos will be shortly joined by the Amurs, which will be offered to the so-called "Kilo club" nations with existing experience with late-generation SSKs. (Source: MILITARY PARADE)

May-June 1998: "Malachite: 50 Years with the Navy" - A. Kuteinikov, General Designer. Malachite has been responsible for many recent successes in submarine design, including Akula and the new Piranha minisub. This history commemorates its fiftieth anniversary. (Source: MILITARY PARADE)

March-April 1998: "Yakhont - New Generation Antiship Missile" - V. Tsarev, First Deputy of the General Designer of the Machine-Building Research and Production Association; V. Melnikov, Head of Design Department. Details on the Mach 2.5 Yakhont were published in the March-April issue of MILITARY PARADE. The next-generation ASM will have a high-altitude profile range of roughly 300km and a low-altitude profile range of 120km; a 200kg HE warhead; and a programmable seeker head that can scan large areas of ocean for detailed target discrimination. The designers claim that it can be mounted on "light warships." No foreign orders were specifically mentioned, but the authors noted that there is "all reason to believe that the Yakhont antiship missile system will appear on the foreign market." (Source: MILITARY PARADE)

27 April 1998: Russian SLBM technology to India? According to a New York Times story, senior U.S. intelligence officials believe that Russia is lending assistance to India's Sagarika submarine-launched ballistic missile program, and that some missile technology may have actually been transferred. Rather predictably, there are denials all around. (Source: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)

13 April 1998: Joint Far East Strategic Command? Russia's forces in the Far East are being reorganized under a unified strategic command that will be controlled by the Navy, according to CinC-Navy Kuroyedov. Reportedly, local air, ground, and naval forces are being folded into a joint command that will be tasked with defending the SSBN force at Petropavlovsk. This command, naturally, will report to the Pacific Fleet. The Russian Army and Air Force must be thrilled. (Source: Monitor)

March-April 1998: "Advanced Technologies and Up-to-Date Naval Systems" - A. Kopanev, Director of the Meridian Central Design Bureau. The next-generation "smart ship" technology being incorporated into new Russian hulls include networked automated workstations built around Pentium processors and software in C++ (with some assembly elements). (Source: MILITARY PARADE)

March-April 1998: "Underwater Sea Hunters" - A. Mozgovoi. Two new examples of fourth-generation diesel submarine design were laid down at St. Petersburg's Admiralty Verfi shipyard recently. The first, Project 677/LADA, is being produced for the Russian Navy; the export version is known as AMUR-1650. These submarines will replace the highly successful Kilo-class SSKs and are said to be "several times quieter." AMUR will be able to make 21 knots submerged with a 4-day endurance, and will have an estimated cruising range of 650 miles. (Source: MILITARY PARADE)

February 1998: Missile Cruisers for Everyone. The fourth Slava, variously known as Vilna Ukraina and Admiral Lobov over the past few years, is apparently going to Ukraine after all, according to a February speech by the Ukrainian prime minister. But what of the Slava that is currently being built under the auspices of the city of Moscow, to be named Moskva? Well, that's going to happen too -- apparently these are two separate ships being worked on at the same yard. At the time of the collapse, the first Slava (Slava) was undergoing an overhaul at Nikolayev. Work on CG Slava-1, rather predictably, halted. It was this unit, and not CG Slava-4, which was the beneficiary of Moscow's civic-minded contribution. And so, in the end, everybody gets a Slava. (When, however, is another question. Moskva is scheduled to return to the fleet in November 1998; Ukraine's cruiser is going to take considerably more time.) (Source: Monitor)

23 Jan 98: Surprise: Russian Navy probably won't build any carriers soon. Defense Minister Sergeyev publicly stated what was becoming rather painfully obvious to observers of the Russian aircraft carrier program: Kuznetsov is going to be the last one of her type in a good long while. Considering the Kuznetsov's lukewarm maiden deployment, the fact that she has made few if any deployments since, that the heart of Russia's carrier aviation infrastructure is no longer on Russian soil, and (finally) Russia's rather precarious financial situation, it's hard to think that this was anything but a foregone conclusion. (Source: Monitor)

13 Jan 98: Marshal Ustinov returns to sea. CG Slava-2 Marshal Ustinov, which has spent the past four years in a St. Petersburg yard undergoing a much-needed overhaul, completed her refit and returned to the Northern Fleet. That the Navy was actually able to come up with the funds to finish the overhaul (certainly not the case for most ships entering the yards these days) was a source of some surprise to observers. Marshal Ustinov's high public profile no doubt had something to do with it. (Source: Monitor)

November-December 1997: "Russia's Prospects for Warship Marketing" - I. Zakharov & V. Pashin. The chiefs of the Defense Ministry's Naval Shipbuilding Research Institute and the Krylov Central Research Institute identify amphibious landing ships and supporting vessels (such as minesweepers and fast patrol boats) as a key market for Russian naval exports. (Source: MILITARY PARADE)

September-October 1997: "Major Trends in the Development of Frigates at the Start of the 21st Century" - V. Yukhnin, General Designer, Severnoye Design Bureau. Academician Yukhnin discusses the key technological trends in next-generation frigates, including sensor integration, integrated multipurpose vertical launch systems, and modernized CICs. These new ships must be "multi-functional" in order to be competitive on the world market. (Source: MILITARY PARADE)

September-October 1997: "BALTOPS Open Horizons" - Capt/2 A. Lobsky. The official Baltic Fleet press release on Russian participation in BALTOPS '97. The Sovremenny-class destroyer Bespokoiny took part in this multinational exercise in June. (Source: MILITARY PARADE)

May-June 1997: "Major Trends and Criteria in the Formulation of the State Military Shipbuilding Program" - I. Khmelnov, Russian Navy Chief of Staff. This is a national security policy piece that is worth reading in its entirety. (Source: MILITARY PARADE)