Russian Helicopters Headed To Iran

Russian Helicopters for Iran: Expert Says Tehran May Acquire Ka-52 and Mi-28

Sputnik News

Russia has made significant progress in manufacturing state-of the-art helicopters, which are used for a variety of purposes, Mohammad Hassan Sangtrash, an Iranian weapons designer and researcher of security and defense strategies in international relations, told Sputnik. 

The Russian president’s special assistant Igor Levitin recently signaled Russian companies’ readiness for the "joint production of helicopters" with Iran. The Islamic Council of Iran in turn announced the purchase of the Russian-made air defenses, missiles as well as fighter jets and helicopters from Russia.

"The history of the presence of Russian helicopters in Iran dates back to 1998-2000, when Iran's air weapons were tired and sometimes grounded due to the eight-year war with the Baathist regime in Iraq," Sangtrash said.

He added that these helicopters, such as the Mi-17, "were admired by Iranian users due to their low maintenance cost and the variety of missions" the vehicles implemented, including those related to "sensitive operations such as the seizure of Western oil tankers."

When asked what helicopters Iran might buy from Russia, the expert first of all gave kudos to Russia, making great progress in manufacturing such aircraft.

He said that "the variety of Russian helicopters is extraordinary," not ruling out that such copters as the Ka-52 and the Mi-28 "may be used as combat birds in [Iran’s] defense organizations."

Additionally, he pointed to the multi-purpose Mi-26 and Ka-226helicopters, as well as the transport copter K-32 that he said Iran could also acquire.

The expert remained upbeat about the possibility of Russia and Iran implementing programs on creating a joint helicopter. According to him, "There are many [helicopter] projects that two countries can build together," including those related to the possible creation of the Saba-248and the Selahshoor (warrior) helicopters.

St Petersburg Closes Airspace

#BREAKING: St Petersburg closes airspace, turns commercial jets away

IntelliNews

Russia’s northern capital of St Petersburg has closed its airspace, grounded all planes that haven’t taken off and is turning away inbound flights, according to reports in the morning of February 28.

The authorities have given no information as to the reason for the emergency measures. bne IntelliNews staff report that fighter jets have been scrambled and are flying over the city, according to telephone calls to residents in the city. The Telegram channel Baza also reports there are jet fighters in the air over the city.

The cities main airport Pulkovo has been shut and air traffic control and initiated the “carpet” plan that is a protocol used when there is an unknown object in the air that can jeopardise the safety of commercial flights.

Flighttracker online service also shows the skies over St Petersburg as empty of planes. The carpet plan is used when there is an illegal border cross or unidentified aircraft in the controlled airspace.

A Vedomosti source in the Ministry of Defence confirmed the information about the introduction of the Carpet plan.

Later, the government of St Petersburg reported that flights were delayed until midday local time, reports Vedomosti, while the airport itself was operating normally.

“At the Pulkovo airport, a flight delay of up to 12 hours has been announced. The airport and its services are operating normally,” the statement said.

Local media, Fontanka, citing sources , reported that an unidentified object was seen 160-200 km from St. Petersburg. According to the publication, these messages were transferred by the Ministry of Defence to the Pulkovo airport.

NATO Continues To Poke The Russian Bear

NATO Pokes Russian Bear – Agrees to Plan for Ukraine to Become Member State

Jim Hoft

NATO announced Tuesday the member nations agreed to allow Ukraine to become a member of the alliance.

These people really love their wars.

NATO Chief Jens Stoltenberg also told reporters, “The faster and the sooner we give them[Ukraine] more heavy weapons the soon the war will end.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesperson said on Tuesday that NATO is in a “de facto” war with Moscow, citing the transatlantic alliance’s deepening support for Ukraine as Kyiv.

It is becoming increasingly clear that this will not end well and the worst is yet to come.

Russian leader Vladimir Putin says he sees the Ukrainian War as a make-or-break moment in Russian history.

Via Reuters.

President Vladimir Putin cast the confrontation with the West over the Ukraine war as an existential battle for the survival of Russia and the Russian people – and said he was forced to take into account NATO’s nuclear capabilities.

A year since ordering the invasion of Ukraine, Putin is increasingly presenting the war as a make-or-break moment in Russian history – and saying that he believes the very future of Russia and its people is in peril.

“They have one goal: to disband the former Soviet Union and its fundamental part – the Russian Federation,” Putin told Rossiya 1 state television in an interview recorded on Wednesday but released on Sunday.

Russian Oil Depot Hit By Ukraine Drones

Russian Oil Depot Hit By Ukraine Drones; Burning

Hal Turner

A Russian Oil Depot on the Black Sea, over 450km away from Ukraine, was struck by Ukrainian drones overnight and is burning.  The Rosneft Oil Depot, located in Tuapse, Krasnodar Krai, suffered several explosions, some caught on video, below. It is a considerable distance from any Ukraine-held position, to fly to this Russian Depot, as seen on the map below:

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Tensions Increase: China's Military Put On High Alert

Chinese military put on ‘high alert’

RT

A US warplane’s recent flight through the Taiwan Strait is a threat to the stability of the region, a Chinese army spokesman stated, as cited by China Daily on Monday.

The P-8A Poseidon anti-submarine patrol and reconnaissance aircraft flew through the strait separating mainland China and the self-governed island of Taiwan on Monday. A Chinese Su-27 took off and monitored the American spy plane along its path. 

Senior Colonel Shi Yi, a spokesman for the PLA (People’s Liberation Army) Eastern Theater Command, said this maneuver “deliberately damaged the regional situation and jeopardized peace and stability” in the region. He added that the Chinese military was “on high alert to resolutely safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

The US forces in the region acknowledged the maneuver. “The United States will continue to fly, sail, and operate anywhere international law allows including within the Taiwan Strait,” the 7th Fleet Command said in a statement.

Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense confirmed that they knew of the P-8A’s flight in a short official statement on the same day, calling the situation “normal.”

Back in June 2022, the US sent a P-8A into the Taiwan strait soon after Beijing deployed 29 aircraft into Taiwan’s self-declared air defense identification zone (ADIZ). Back then, Shi similarly accused the US and Taiwan of “hyping” the maneuver up and testing China’s determination by sending American warships through the straits. Taiwanese foreign ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou argued that the waterway was part of international waters.

In response to the US spy plane flythrough, Beijing held their own military exercises in August.

China-US relations are experiencing increased levels of tension due to the ‘spy balloon’ scandal. A Chinese high-altitude balloon crossed over the continental US in late January and early February. Beijing assured it was a weather aircraft veering off course, while the Pentagon claimed it was part of a vast surveillance network of spy airships and shot it down. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken canceled his planned trip to China, while Beijing accused Washington of “hysteria” and an “overreaction.”