BCA's Matt Gertken: The key is that Russia has an interest in ceasefire with Ukraine
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Insider
10 minutes ago
- Business Insider
Inside the chopper that NATO warships lean on to find Russian submarines
Business Insider traveled with the Dutch Navy in the Arctic region to witness NATO operations. A reporter flew on the European-made NH90 helicopter, which specializes in anti-submarine warfare. This small aircraft is highly suited for missions in the Arctic, where NATO monitors Russian subs. ABOVE THE NORWEGIAN SEA — The sleek, gray NH90 helicopter cut through the brisk Arctic air, leaving the jagged coastal mountains and fjords behind. From above, the frigid blue waters below showed no signs of life. The helicopter wasn't on the hunt when Business Insider flew from Tromsø, Norway, out to the Royal Netherlands Navy frigate HNLMS De Ruyter, but it's built for that mission. Had a Russian submarine been lurking below the surface, as they often do in this remote part of the world, the helicopter could have employed its powerful dipping sonar and other advanced — and secretive — equipment to find the hidden boat. The flight out to the Dutch frigate, the lead ship of Standing NATO Maritime Group 1, as it was conducting operations in the Norwegian Sea, was merely an airport transfer; however, the NH90 plays an integral role in anti-submarine warfare, one of the standing group's key missions in this latest deployment. Several of De Ruyter's crew members described the helicopter as essential to its sub-hunting capabilities. "It's a fantastic asset," British Lt. Cdr. Michael Royle, the staff anti-submarine warfare officer aboard De Ruyter, said of the NH-90. He described the helicopter as a valuable "force multiplier." 'A big addition' to the warship The NHIndustries NH90 is a twin-engine multirole helicopter made by a consortium of European companies and is in service with nine NATO militaries, including the Netherlands. Although they aren't members of the alliance, Oman, Qatar, and New Zealand also operate the aircraft. The NH90 was developed to satisfy NATO's need for a helicopter that could operate in naval environments. Since the aircraft made its first flight in the mid-1990s, over 500 of them have been built in two variants — an army transport version and another that can be embarked on frigates like the De Ruyter. One of the NH90's main mission sets is anti-submarine warfare. It is equipped with dipping sonar — a deployable underwater sensor that emits pulses and analyzes echoes — and expendable sonar buoys, which rely on acoustic sensors to track submarines and potential threats underwater. The helicopter is relatively spacious. Two pilots sat in the cockpit, while a third crew member sat in the back. At one point, as the aircraft approached De Ruyter, he slid open the door, giving way to a blast of Arctic breeze. The NH90 is full of sensitive equipment, so much so that Business Insider was not permitted to take photographs of the interior. Royle said that the sonar system can be dropped into the sea at "a big depth;" he declined to say how deep. "That allows you to exploit the water column in order to get the massive ranges for sonars to be able to potentially detect submarines." Dutch Cpl. Duncan, a NH90 maintainer with the De Ruyter who was only authorized to use his rank and first name for security reasons, told Business Insider that by deploying both the sonar and the buoys, "you can determine the exact spot and triangulate where something — or someone — could be." The NH90 helicopter can also operate in bad visibility, which can be a challenge in the Arctic region, making it an important tool in countering Russia's submarine force. Russia fields one of the largest submarine fleets in the world, with an estimated 64 active boats. Dozens of boats belong to its Northern Fleet, based in the Murmansk region along the Barents Sea. To get to the Atlantic and Mediterranean as quickly as possible, they have to sail through the Arctic and head west around the northern tip of Norway, through the waters where Standing NATO Maritime Group 1 was operating last week. In recent years, top Western military officers have drawn attention to growing Russian submarine and naval activity in the Atlantic, among other waterways. There is also increasing concern in Europe about damage to critical underwater infrastructure; in January, NATO deployed military forces to the Baltic Sea to respond to sabotage incidents. Commodore Arjen Warnaar, the Dutch commander of the Standing NATO Maritime Group, told Business Insider that countering submarines is one of the De Ruyter's main tasks on its current Arctic deployment. "One of the main reasons for me to be here is to increase our readiness. So that's basically what we've been doing up north," he said. "We've been exercising all kinds of different operations," Warnaar explained. "Surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare — just basic picture compilation, replenishment, logistics are important. And at the same time, we've been having a good look around." NATO forces operate several other aircraft equipped to track down Russian submarines, such as Boeing's P-8 Poseidon or Lockheed's P-3 Orion. These planes, while well-equipped, are less flexible than helicopters like the SH-60 Seahawk or NH90 because they operate from airfields rather than ships at sea, limiting time on site. Cpl. Duncan called the helicopter "a big addition" to De Ruyter because it can extend the range of the warship's anti-submarine warfare capabilities. "The range extension of the sonar is an important aspect because of the abilities of detecting, seeing, and determining if there are any contacts on the water," he explained, adding that the helicopter can clear water columns of potential threats — also known as sanitizing the area — before the ship moves into the space. Adm. Stuart Munsch, the commander of US Naval Forces Europe-Africa, previously told Business Insider that anti-submarine warfare is one of the hardest missions to execute in naval operations. However, he said NATO forces have become increasingly proficient at this task in the Atlantic Ocean and in the High North region.
Newsweek
10 minutes ago
- Newsweek
Russia Has 'Strong Incentive' To Deploy More Destructive Nukes: Report
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Russia has a "strong incentive" to use more destructive nuclear weapons as Western militaries build up their missile arsenals and improve their air defenses, according to a new report. "Russian nuclear strategy appears to be at an inflection point," said an analysis published on Tuesday by the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), a British defense think tank. Newsweek has contacted the Russian Ministry of Defense for comment via email. Why It Matters The U.S. provides the vast majority of NATO's nuclear deterrent. Together, Russia and the U.S. have a grip on about 90 percent of the world's nuclear weapons. Nuclear rhetoric and threats have limned the almost three and a half years of full-scale war in Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin put Russia's nuclear deterrence forces on high alert as Moscow's forces poured into Ukraine in early 2022, and the Kremlin's veteran foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, said a few months later that the risks of nuclear conflict had become "considerable." Russian officials have repeatedly said this month that the Kremlin does not consider itself bound any more by previous restrictions on short-range and intermediate-range nuclear and conventional missiles. The Knyaz Pozharsky nuclear-powered Borei-A class submarine is moored at a pier in Severodvinsk, Russia, on July 24. The Knyaz Pozharsky nuclear-powered Borei-A class submarine is moored at a pier in Severodvinsk, Russia, on July 24. Alexander Kazakov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP What To Know Moscow believes Washington can more easily take out its ability to launch a nuclear strike, according to RUSI's report. The Kremlin also assesses that improvements to NATO's air defenses could interfere with any strategy where Russia would use nuclear weapons "in a calibrated or dosed way, as part of a regional war," the report said. This "creates a strong incentive to employ nuclear weapons at a larger scale than is consistent with dosing," it continued. Strategic nuclear weapons are deployed on intercontinental ballistic missiles, submarine-launched ballistic missiles and those fired from bomber aircraft. They are thought of as the missiles that could level entire cities and threaten major global superpowers. They are limited under the New START Treaty that is due to expire in early 2026. Unlike strategic weapons, tactical nuclear weapons—or nonstrategic weapons—have a smaller yield and are designed for use on the battlefield or in what is known as a specific theater. Western estimates typically put Russia's tactical nuclear arsenal at somewhere between 1,000 and 2,000 warheads. The U.S. has an estimated 200 tactical nuclear weapons, with about half deployed at European bases. In 1987, U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev signed an agreement known as the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, which banned nuclear and conventional missiles able to strike between 500 and 5,500 kilometers (310 and 3,400 miles). The treaty is no longer in effect and does not bind either state. The U.S. formally pulled out of the INF Treaty in mid-2019, during President Donald Trump's first term in office. Washington had accused Moscow of breaching the terms of the agreement by developing the SSC-8, also known as the 9M729 ground-launched cruise missile. NATO also accused Russia of violating the treaty, which Moscow denied. Both sides had suspended participation months earlier. Russia then said it would not deploy missiles banned under this treaty "until U.S.-manufactured missiles of similar classes" were rolled out, known as the INF moratorium. The U.S. has deployed its Mid-Range Capability missile system, which can fire Tomahawk cruise missiles with a range of about 1,000 miles, to the northern Philippines. Putin said on August 1 that Moscow would deliver Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missiles to Belarus by the end of 2025. Russia fired the experimental missile at central Ukraine in November 2024. That month, Moscow updated its nuclear doctrine to justify a nuclear strike in response to an attack on Russia by a nonnuclear country if it is backed by a nuclear-armed nation. U.S. nuclear strategy during Trump's previous term in office steered Washington toward "flexibility and range" with its nuclear weapons, including by modifying some Trident submarine-launched ballistic missile warheads to be lower-yield. The U.S. first deployed the low-yield Trident warheads in early 2020. What People Are Saying Jon Wolfsthal, Hans Kristensen and Matt Korda, from the Federation of American Scientists, wrote in a Washington Post op-ed in June: "Many of the most dangerous ideas from the Cold War are being resurrected: lower-yield weapons to fight 'limited' nuclear wars; blockbuster missiles that could destroy multiple targets at once; the redeployment of a whole class of missiles once banned and destroyed by treaty."
Newsweek
10 minutes ago
- Newsweek
China Reacts to Trump, Putin Meeting Without Ukraine, EU
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. China said it hopes all those with a stake in the Russia-Ukraine war would play a role in the peace negotiations, as U.S. President Donald Trump prepares for a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday, August 15. The Trump-Putin summit will discuss the control of land in Ukraine, swathes of which Russia has seized during the course of its full-scale invasion, launched in February 2022. Trump is trying to broker an end to Russia's war. Kyiv and its European allies have urged Trump not to agree to any concessions of Ukrainian land to Russia, saying such decisions are Ukraine's alone to make, and warned against what they said is rewarding Moscow's illegal aggression. At a daily press briefing on Tuesday, August 12, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian was asked about Trump and Putin's decision to hold a summit without inviting any representatives from Ukraine or the European Union (EU). "China supports all efforts conducive to the peaceful settlement of the crisis, and is glad to see Russia and the U.S. keep in contact, improve their relations and advance the political settlement of the Ukraine crisis," Lin said, according to a transcript released by the ministry. "We hope all parties concerned and stakeholders will take part in the negotiation process in due course and reach a fair, lasting and binding peace agreement acceptable to parties concerned at an early date." China is a vital strategic partner of Russia's. While it has said it plays no role in the war, Beijing has provided Russia with a major economic lifeline through large-scale oil purchases, helping Moscow to circumvent Western sanctions. This is a breaking news story. Updates to follow.
