Military And Intelligence News Briefs -- September 13, 2017

Source: Mil.ru

Washington Post: 100,000 troops will engage in Russia’s Zapad-2017 war games

As Russia prepares for its annual strategic military exercises, speculation is mounting that the Zapad-2017 war games, set for Thursday through Sept. 20 in western Russia and Belarus, might be a prelude to war. Ukraine’s defense minister cautioned that Zapad could be a ruse to attack any European country “that shares a border with Russia,” while the New York Times proclaimed that the drills near NATO’s borders have raised “fears of aggression.” A CNN contributor wondered, “Could they turn into war?”

My analysis of Russia’s recent war games suggests that this is highly unlikely. The Russian military is preparing for war, but that is what generals in all countries do — prepare for worst-case scenarios, and carry out large-scale exercises to test the military’s readiness for them. Russia’s annual strategic exercises rotate among four regions: Zapad (“west,” last held in 2013), Vostok (“east,” 2014), Tsentr (“center,” 2015) and Kavkaz (“Caucasus,” 2016). If anything, this rotation suggests that Russian strategists are trying to for a strategic conflict from any direction, be it with NATO or China.

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Military And Intelligence News Briefs -- September 13, 2017

Russia May Send 100K Troops to NATO’s Borders -- Defense Tech

Massive Russian military exercise heightens fear of troop build-up on western border -- CNBC

Number of Western military drills near Russian borders keeps growing — Russian military official -- TASS

Russia Successfully Test-Launches Yars ICBM -- Sputnik

Russia Will Have 6000 More Tanks in Its Army -- War Is Boring

‘What did they expect?’ Erdogan rebukes NATO critics over purchase of Russian S-400 -- RT

Pentagon comments on Ankara’s decision to buy Russian S-400 missile systems -- TASS

NATO in Europe needs 'military Schengen' to rival Russian mobility -- DW

Chinese naval fleet goes to Vladivostok for Russian-Chinese drill -- TASS

The crucial political role of China’s military -- Jumel G. Estrañero, Asia Times

N. Korea vows to redouble military strength over 'evil, US-fabricated' sanctions -- RT

India's First Woman Defense Minister Plans to Overcome Gender Inequality in Army -- Sputnik

With $5B Order, Canada Lays Groundwork to Buy F/A-18E/F Super Hornets -- DoD Buzz

The Royal Navy may have to trim platforms to pay for tech surge -- Defense News

The Royal Navy's oldest ship has a new mission as the UK looks to grow its fleet -- Defense News

US Navy sailors and marines bring supplies to the Virgin Islands -- Daily Mail

Helos from USS Abraham Lincoln Now Delivering Food and Water to Hurricane Irma Victims -- USNI News

CENTCOM Head Denies Reports of US Plans to Potentially Abandon Base in Qatar -- Sputnik

The US Navy's 4 public shipyards are in bad shape, and it will take 19 years to restore their facilities, study says -- Virginian-Pilot

The Very Backbone of the U.S. Navy Is in Big Trouble -- Dave Majumdar, National Interest

Shallow-Water Osprey Crash Caused by Pilot Error, Marine Corps Finds -- Military

US Air Force Dusts Off Old Skills to Fight a New Kind of War in Eastern Europe -- Daily Signal

Lawmakers: Air Force May Scrap E-8 JSTARS Upgrade -- DoD Buzz

Air Force may be rethinking new planes for J-STARS -- The Telegraph

USAF mulls canceling JSTARS recapitalisation -- Flight Global

Trump will 'demand' increase in military budget as part of spending deal: Mnuchin -- CNBC

Mattis: Budget stopgap will significantly harm military -- CNN

Mattis: Budget stopgap will hurt military -- The Hill

After threatened standoff, Senate to vote on setting deadline for authorization for military force -- Washington Post

Intelligence director criticizes former officials for speaking out against Trump -- The Hill

McCain drops plan to expand US military ties with Myanmar -- FOX News/AP

Pentagon is still preparing for global warming even though Trump said to stop -- Military Times

Russia and China Have One Big Advantage over the U.S. Navy (But Not for Long) -- Dave Majumdar, National Interest

The ‘World’s Greatest Military’ Is Indeed Great—at Defeating Itself -- William J. Astore, The Nation