Russian navy to start sorties in Mediterranean

Thu Dec 6, 2007 2:43am
By Guy Faulconbridge
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia said on Wednesday it would start the first major navy sortie into the Mediterranean since Soviet times, the latest move by an increasingly assertive Moscow to demonstrate its military might.
"The aim of the sorties is to ensure a naval presence in tactically important regions of the world ocean," Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov told President Vladimir Putin, who wished the sailors well. The rest of the meeting was closed.
Serdyukov said 11 ships, including an aircraft carrier, would take part in the sortie and be backed up by 47 aircraft -- including strategic bombers.



Full story
http://in.reuters.com/article/worldN...30845120071205

Soviet Naval doctrine has always included strategic bombers hasn't it?

I think the strategic bombers are a throw back to the cold war days when focusing on carrier battle group was sort of a combined effort. I guess they felt that's it was there best chance of reaching a carrier with a ship / sub / air attack. Nowadays there fast anti-ship missiles would be the main choice but I would still sneak a sub as close as possible to, subs are just nasty.