German navy chief Schönbach resigns over comments on crisis in Ukraine

Vice Admiral Kay-Achim Schönbach, commander of the German Navy, has had to steped down following some public statements about the crisis in Ukraine. During a conference in India he stated that Crimea was lost to Ukraine, and that Vladimir Putin "probably" deserved respect. He also added that Georgia should not join NATO and that Ukraine does not meet requirements.

Vice Admiral Kay-Achim Schönbach.

Ukraine's Foreign Ministry has summoned German Ambassador Anka Feldhusen to stress "the categorical unacceptability" of Schönbach's comments. A German Defense Ministry spokesman pointed out that "The content and choice of words of the statements in no way correspond to the position of the Federal Ministry of Defense"

Schönbach has already published an apology on his Twitter account.

References:

- https://www.dw.com/
- Conferencia

One hundred years of Spanish Naval Aviation

On the 13th of September the Spanish Naval Aviation it's 100th aniversary. Loads of photos and other material can be found by using the "hashtag" #100AviaciónNaval in twitter. The video below, created by the Spanish Navy, is excellent, and shows some of the ships and aircraft used in all these years.

References:

- https://twitter.com/Armada_esp
- http://fly-news.es/militar/la-armada-espanola-celebra-los-100-anos-de-la-aviacion-naval/

Yemn rebels launch attack on ship from Saudi Arabia

Yemen Houthi rebels have attacked a ship from Saudi Arabia, probaly a Al Madinah frigate. According to the latest information the attack was carried out by 3 suicide boat and 2 members of the crew have died.

“Coraza Avanzada” maneouvers in Spain

A few weeks ago the Spanish Army and Navy carried out the exercise  Coraza Avanzada” (Advanced Armour). It took place in Rota and the brigade Guadarrama XII practised embarking and disembarking from the ship L-61 “Juan Carlos I”. 16 vehicles from the brigade participated as part of a tactical subunit. The disembarking from LCM-1E ships was also practised.

References:

- http://www.ejercito.mde.es/

Admiral Kuznetsov and its Task Force to head home

13-1-2017

According to Fox News the number of sorties carried out from the ship was 154 in 2 months, a much lower figure than that provided by the media (420). The operability of Admiral Kuznetsov has been questioned since she left Russia.

6-1-2017

The Russian government is scaling down its presence in Syria, and the Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier will be heading back to their base in Northern Russia. There hasn't been much information about the ship in recent weeks, especially the amount of sorties performed by the air wing. 

The truth is that its presence was not really needed, as the Aerospace Forces (VKS) already have a base. The deployment was more for PR than practical purposes. It has not been exactly sucessful. The tempo of operations did not seem that high, and 2 fighters were lost, including an almost new MiG-29KR.

References:

- https://lenta.ru/news/2017/01/06/kuznetsov/

Yemeni rebels destroy Emirati military vessel

These photos show the damage suffered by an Emirati HSV-2 catamaran. The boat was attacked bu houthi rebels in Bab al-Mandab strait in the early hours of last Saturday (check Charly015 analysis analysis). As it was dark, it was not possible to confirm if it was an actual attack or just a propaganda video.

UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs has condemned the attack, claiming that it was a civil ship carrying wounded Yemenis and civilians. According to their information, the ship was on a civilian mission and was chartered to the National Marine Dredging Company. It is likely that a Chinese antiship missile YJ-8 was used on the attack.

References

- Photos found in twitter.
- http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-37561749
- http://charly015.blogspot.co.uk