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On Tuesday, Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu reported to President Vladimir Putin that Russian missile detection systems registered two launches of ballistic missiles in the Mediterranean region, apparently, from the eastern coastline. Minoborony said that the launches took place at 10.16 am MSK (23.16 2 September PDT. 02.16 EDT. 07.16 UTC. 17.16 AEDT); the early warning system in Armavir in southern Russia detected them. The event comes amidst growing expectations of Western military action in Syria. The Syrian Embassy in Moscow said that it had no information on the nature of the ballistic launches.
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Minoborony reported that the Russian early missile attack warning system registered the launch of two ballistic targets in the Mediterranean Sea, saying, “A crew of the radar division of the system in Armavir detected the launch”. The flight trajectory of the two ballistic targets extended from the central part of the Mediterranean Sea fired towards the Sea’s eastern coastline. The launches took place at 10.16 MSK (23.16 2 September PDT. 02.16 EDT. 07.16 UTC. 17.16 AEDT); the early warning system in Armavir in southern Russia detected them. Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu reported the event to President Putin, which came amidst growing expectations of Western military action in Syria. The Russian embassy in Syria said that it saw no sign of missile attack or explosions in Damascus after Aramvir detected the launches. A spokesman for the Russian diplomatic mission in Damascus said, “I know nothing about this”. The Pentagon denied any knowing of the alleged Mediterranean missile launches. Israel also said that it was unaware of any ballistic missile launch in the eastern Mediterranean. A military spokesman in Jerusalem said, “We aren’t aware, at this time, of such an event having occurred”.
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RIA-Novosti cited a source in Damascus as saying that the two ballistic “objects” that Russia detected near the eastern coast of the Mediterranean on Tuesday fell into the sea. Meanwhile, the UK Ministry of Defence said that they were “aware of the launch”, but had nothing to do with it.
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According to a Syrian security source quoted by Lebanon‘s al-Manar television on Tuesday, Syria’s early warning radar system didn’t detect any missiles landing on Syrian territory. On Tuesday, Russian radar detected the launch of two ballistic “objects” in the Mediterranean Sea, but RIA-Novosti reported that there was no sign of a missile strike on the Syrian capital Damascus.
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An US official told the CBC that no American ship or aircraft launched missiles in the Mediterranean Sea. Also, the NORAD press service told Interfax that the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) has no information on the launch of ballistic missiles in the Mediterranean Sea.
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Interfax reported that missiles detected by the Russian early warning system could’ve been launched from an American vessel in Mediterranean for weather reconnaissance.
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Israel said that it carried out a test of a missile, used as a target in a US-funded anti-missile system, in the Mediterranean on Tuesday. The Israeli Defence Ministry said hat it conducted the test at 09.15 local time (23.15 2 September PDT. 02.15 EDT. 07.15 UTC. 17.15 AEDT), about the same time that RIA-Novosti reported that Russian radar detected the launch of two ballistic “objects” in the Mediterranean.
3 September 2013
Voice of Russia World Service
http://voiceofrussia.com/news/2013_09_03/Russia-s-anti-air-missile-radars-register-two-ballistic-launches-in-Mediterranean-Defense-Ministry-8581/
http://voiceofrussia.com/news/2013_09_03/Russia-says-detects-two-missile-launches-in-Mediterranean-5348/
http://voiceofrussia.com/news/2013_09_03/Ballistic-objects-detected-by-Russian-radar-fell-into-sea-source-in-Damascus-1478/
http://voiceofrussia.com/news/2013_09_03/Syria-radar-system-did-not-detect-missiles-landing-in-Syria-Al-Manar-8261/
http://voiceofrussia.com/news/2013_09_03/US-Navy-US-Air-Force-did-not-launch-ballistic-missiles-in-the-Mediterranean-US-official-6060/
http://voiceofrussia.com/news/2013_09_03/US-ship-may-have-fired-rockets-for-weather-reconnaissance-2653/
http://voiceofrussia.com/news/2013_09_03/Alleged-missile-launch-caused-by-Israeli-Defense-Ministry-testing-ABM-system-9613/
16 September 2014. As Seen by Vitaly Podvitsky. They’re My New TARGETS! 2014
Tags: 9K720 Iskander, Anti-Ballistic Missile, Ballistic missile, cartoons, Eastern Europe, editorial cartoons, EU, European Union, international organisations, Iskander missiles, Kaliningrad Oblast, missile defence, missile defence system, missile defences, missiles, National missile defense, NATO, North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, Poland, political commentary, politics, Russia, Russian, United States, USA, Vitaly Podvitsky, war and conflict
They’re My New TARGETS!
Vitaly Podvitsky
2014
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The USA boasts of its “overwhelming conventional superiority”… that isn’t so… it’s never been so… it won’t be so in future, either. Note how unwelcoming the Eastern Europeans became to American plans for ABM bases after Russia said, “Fine… if you allow such bases, we’ll install Iskander SRBMs in Kaliningrad Oblast”. You see, the Iskanders would hit their targets before any ABM system would lock onto them. Czechia and Poland suddenly lost interest in such bases, reasoning that they didn’t want to become Priority One targets for Russian strategic assets. Fancy that…
“Overwhelming superiority”, indeed…
BMD