The news is full of the reports that 4 Russian naval vessels, two of which are actual warships and only one of which is a tugboat they felt they needed to bring along for some reason, have arrived in Caracas for exercises with the Venezuelan "Navy". Some people are trying to make it seem like a Big Deal that the Russian Navy is deploying in our backyard, and I agree -- I'm impressed they were able to make it all the way almost to the equator with the same number of ships they started with. As I said earlier, I'm sure this provided an excellent training opportunity for U.S. Navy forces.
In any event, even though naval professionals will recognize that this "show of force" is about the same as that of a mouse running through the den of some well-fed sleepy lions, it's still important that we make the Russians feel like they've accomplished something for their efforts -- that we've taken some notice of the fact that they can steam several thousand miles with 4 ships and are therefore somehow "respectful" of them. The Navy has responded in the most appropriate way -- by choosing this week to just happen to "release" some pictures of one of the most feared weapons in the U.S. Navy arsenal. Check it out:
Experienced naval experts the world over were, I'm sure, shocked by the evidence of this latest Yankee advance in nautical superiority -- USS Georgia (SSGN 729) shown with a working B1rD system! In the past, the Navy has only released pictures of SSNs with B1rD (CGu-11 mod). Now that we've combined Special Forces operations, a couple hundred Tomahawks, and the most diabolical Aw-Sh*t paint-fouling system imaginable, other navies will just want to pack it in -- you haven't got a chance.
(You can find more pictures of USS Georgia here, here, and here.)
Bell-ringer 1221 27 Nov: A commenter remembers that the Georgia already has experience in getting rid of tugboats, so she could be considered even a greater potential counter to the Russian ships.