Russian air base has accidental magazine explosion

[Werner]

Video + text: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7418860.stm

The official news agency Interfax says at least 450 air-to-air missiles were destroyed.

My understanding is this is at least the second time this has happened. In the 1980s a naval magazine exploded, and to cover it up the Northern Fleet sailed for the better part of a decade without missiles, or with a sharply reduced compliment of weapons aboard.

[Gerarddm]

If they ever have a Mutsu event the crap will really hit the fan.

[Werner]

Kirov suffered a major reactor incident in 1999. Since then, she has been sitting in harbor, unmanned, because of radiation.

[chuck]

The projected loss of $80 million indicates each of the 400 missiles were on average worth less than $200,000, especially if the value of the losses involve damage to more than just missiles. This in turn suggest not many of the lost missiles could have been of the latest generation. Soviet Alamo AAM goes for over $1million a pop on the international arms market, I believe.

[chuck]

If they ever have a Mutsu event the crap will really hit the fan.

Soviet battleships have blown up in port before. One in 1956 I believe. The crap whirled about in the rumor mill both inside and outside the Soviet Union, but led to nothing spectacular other than the sacking and demotion of the CinC Black Sea Fleet.

[Pieter]

I think that was Novorossiisk and she did not just blow up -she hit an old WW2 mine first.

If they ever have a Mutsu event the crap will really hit the fan.

Soviet battleships have blown up in port before. One in 1956 I believe. The crap whirled about in the rumor mill both inside and outside the Soviet Union, but led to nothing spectacular other than the sacking and demotion of the CinC Black Sea Fleet.

[Werner]

The projected loss of $80 million indicates each of the 400 missiles were on average worth less than $200,000, especially if the value of the losses involve damage to more than just missiles. This in turn suggest not many of the lost missiles could have been of the latest generation. Soviet Alamo AAM goes for over $1million a pop on the international arms market, I believe.

Wouldn't be the first time damage was underestimated by a major power trying to minimize it's losses.

Russian doctrine requires most missiles to be kept in a central depot. It's reasonable to expect what was lost was a majority of deployable munitions for a region's air power.

We won't know for sure until satellite photos are taken and interpreted.

[Gone Asiatic]

I think that was Novorossiisk and she did not just blow up -she hit an old WW2 mine first.

Soviet battleships have blown up in port before. One in 1956 I believe. The crap whirled about in the rumor mill both inside and outside the Soviet Union, but led to nothing spectacular other than the sacking and demotion of the CinC Black Sea Fleet.

Wasn`t Novorossiisk assigned to the Far East Fleet at Vladivostok?

[chuck]

Nope. This was the old Italian battleship Giulio Cesare, which was handed over to the Soviets in 1949 as war reparation. She immediately went to the Black sea fleet to serve as a gunnery training vessel and never again left the Black Sea.

One interesting outcome of the loss of this ship in 1955 was the Sacking of Navy C-in-C Admiral Kuznetsov. Kuznetsov was relied of his command, demoted to vice admiral, and sent into retirement with the proviso that he be deemed unqualified for recall. Yet despite this disgrace, major Soviet warships not only continue to be named after him, but in their names honor him with his former rank of full Admiral.