US Navy Admiral Says American Interests Challenged by Russian ‘Arc of Steel’

The first of three main challenges to US and European interests is Russia, whose military buildup amounts to a geographically broad “arc of steel,” Navy staff director Vice Adm. James Foggo said at a US Naval Institute event in Washington, DC.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – Foggo said that Russia has introduced advanced air defense, cruise-missile systems and new platforms, including coastal mines, and more deployments in the maritime domain since the Cold War. 

"The remilitarization of Russian security policy is evident by the construction of an arc of steel from the Arctic to the Mediterranean, starting from their new Arctic bases, to Leningrad in the Baltic and Crimea in the Black Sea,” Foggo told his audience on Wednesday.

Foggo, a former submariner and until September the commander of the US Navy's 6th Fleet, based in Italy, added: "Russian maritime expansion in the North Atlantic and peninsulas of Europe is the most significant in 30 years. Russia is set to field six more submarines in the Black Sea, and submarine operations in the Mediterranean have increased."

Nevertheless, the US Navy must keep channels open with Russia in order to reduce the risk of maritime military accidents, the admiral asserted.

Russian-Indian Hypersonic Cruise Missile Could Revolutionize Arms Industry

The new missile may become a revolutionary new weapon, the head of Russian-Indian BrahMos Aerospace enterprise said.

A prototype BrahMos-II hypersonic cruise missile, currently under joint development by Russia and India, may be created in six to seven years, head of Russian-Indian BrahMos Aerospace enterprise Sudhir Mishra said Tuesday.

"Research work on this project is underway in India at the Indian Institute of Science and in Russia at the Moscow Aviation Institute. This new missile is envisaged as a revolutionary new weapon," Mishra told RIA Novosti. "The exact configuration of the system has yet to be defined, the creation of a prototype hypersonic BrahMos missile can take six-seven years."

China Acquires Vicious 1,553MPH Su-35 Multirole Fighter Jets From Russia

The first four Su-35 fighter jets from a 24 aircraft arms deal between the two allies are to be delivered before the end of the year according to a statement by the Komsomolsk-on-Amur aviation plant.

This week the governor of Khabarovsk Krai, a federal area located in the Russian Far East, said in a statement during the opening of a new aircraft production plant that China will receive the first four Russian-made Sukhoi Su-35 multirole fighter jets in consideration of a 24 aircraft deal between Moscow and Beijing signed in November of 2015.

From 2016 to 2018, the Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aircraft Production plant will build and deliver a total of 24 Su-35 combat jets to China, the governor said according to RIA news agency as part of the agreement first forged between the parties in late 2015.

The Diplomat explains that the "the Su-35 is a Fourth++ generation, twin-engine, highly maneuverable multirole fighter jet powered by two AL-117S turbofan engines. The Russian aircraft’s powerful turbofan engine is also the most likely reason why China is interested in acquiring Su-35 fighters."   The fighter jet has a maximum speed of 1,553 MPH (2500kmh) with advanced dry thrust and afterburner capabilities that enhance the aircraft’s dogfight maneuverability and semi-stealth design that makes it possibly the most lethal fighter jet in the sky. The Su-35 is Russia’s top air-superiority fighter, until the fifth-generation PAK-FA stealth fighter comes into production, with a clear maneuverability edge over existing fighter jets and a limited radar cross section after adjustments were made to the engine inlets and canopy as well as a series of modifications including the use of “radar-absorbent material” that gives the flanker a stealth-like profile.

The fighter jet comes armed with K-77M radar-guided missiles with a range of over 120 miles (193km) providing pilots with standoff capabilities ensuring pilot protection, an R-74 infrared-guided missiles that allow for targeting by a pilot using a helmet-mounted optical sight, and a thirty-millimeter cannon with 150 rounds for dogfight battles.

The acquisition of the Su-35 by the Chinese is a major boon for the country’s defense as well as its avionics industry. China has worked to produce its own turbofan akin to the Su-35’s, known as the WS-10 turbofan, but it continues to underperform the Russian-made AL-117S. If China is able to reverse engineer the technology they may be able to rapidly overcome their avionics gap with the West.

Brand New Russian Su-35 and PAK FA Turn Pentagon's F-16 Into 'Relic of the Past'

The F-16 Fighting Falcon has been a workhorse in the Pentagon's arsenal, but Russia's cutting-edge new aircraft, including the Sukhoi Su-35 and the Sukhoi PAK FA, have rendered the all-weather supersonic multirole aircraft, which has been in service since 1978, as "obsolete," defense and national security writer Kyle Mizokami asserted.

The F-16 is "seriously outmatched by a new generation of Russian and Chinese fighters," he wrote for the National Interest.

Mizokami named the Sukhoi Su-35 Flanker-E multirole air superiority fighter and the Sukhoi PAK FA fifth-generation stealth superiority fighter as a case in point.

The Su-35, a heavily upgraded version of the Sukhoi Su-27, is a 4++ generation aircraft produced since 2007. The warplanes completed their first combat missions in Syria earlier this year. "The Su-35 may not be stealthy, but it can detect and engage the F-16 before the F-16 can detect it, and this puts the American plane at a big disadvantage. In a one-on-one fight, the F-16 will probably not even be able to get the Su-35 into dogfighting range, where the smaller fighter's legendary maneuverability would come into play," Mizokami explained. 

The gap between the F-16 and the Sukhoi PAK FA, also known as the T-50, is even more glaring.  The cutting edge aircraft is the first operational aircraft in Russian service to use stealth technology. The PAK FA is currently undergoing testing and is expected to enter service with the Russian Air Force and the Russian Navy in 2018.

The fighter jet is meant to replace Russia's aging Mikoyan MiG-29s and Sukhoi Su-27s. PAK FA's "stealthy design will ultimately mean F-16s won't even detect their adversaries before they realize they are being targeted by beyond-visual-range guided missiles, launched by aircraft only visible on radar for the brief moment their internal weapons bay doors are open," the analyst noted. The F-16 could be upgraded to become more competitive, but the lack of stealth is the plane's ultimate weakness when compared to other advanced aircraft. "Thanks to PAK-FA and the J-20, [the F-16] days as a day-one frontline fighter are over. As the F-35 enters service with the United States and with its NATO and Asian allies, the F-16 begins its long, well-earned flight into the sunset," Mizokami said.