NEWSWATCH: “Russian Campaign in Syria Exposes Moscow’s Defense Gaps; Deployment of warships to assist Assad regime lays bare weaknesses in Russian military’s naval aviation and carrier operations” – Wall Street Journal

File Photo of Deck of Russian Aircraft Carrier Admiral Kuznetsov

“A flotilla of Russian warships in the Mediterranean … provid[es] a high-profile show of force in support of the Syrian regime. But … also throw[s] into sharp relief the limits of Moscow’s conventional military. … the quarter-century-old Kuznetsov lacks the kind of powerful catapult system … featured on U.S. carriers, forcing Russian planes to carry lighter payloads and less fuel …. a dearth of highly trained aviators able to take off and land at sea has forced the ship to carry fewer pilots …. Moscow already lost one jet fighter [that] crashed this month during a training flight on an approach to the carrier. … [At the same time,] Russian planes are bombing forces opposed to … al-Assad … [Russian] attacks on … Aleppo … have prompted sharp criticism from … Western capitals. … Western officials see the Kuznetsov operation … [and] recent announcements that Russia will permanently base Iskander missiles in its Baltic Sea enclave of Kalingrad [] as part of a two-pronged strategy from … Putin, particularly since the election of … Trump ….”

Click here for Wall Street Journal: “Russian Campaign in Syria Exposes Moscow’s Defense Gaps; Deployment of warships to assist Assad regime lays bare weaknesses in Russian military’s naval aviation and carrier operations”

[featured images are file photos]

File Photo of Deck of Russian Aircraft Carrier Admiral Kuznetsov

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