In January last year, the Russian Navy brushed aside pleas from Dublin by announcing a major military exercise slap bang in the middle of Ireland’s fishing grounds. The country’s fishermen had other ideas: they refused to leave waters to the south of the country and maintained a round-the-clock presence, thus preventing the Russian warships from carrying out the drill.

Now it’s happened again. Norwegian fishermen have pulled off a similar victory against the might of the Russian Navy. Their successful efforts are a reminder that national security involves the whole of society — and that the best ideas don’t always come from the government or think tanks.

  • tal@kbin.social
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    1 year ago

    Not quite the Russian navy, but during the Cold War, I’d place the Soviet Navy pretty comfortably as the second-most-powerful navy in the world.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_Navy

    467,000 personnel (1984)[1]
    1,057 ships (1990)
    1,172 aircraft (1990)
    5 aircraft carriers (1990)
    2 helicopter carriers (1990)
    3 battlecruisers
    30 cruisers
    45 destroyers
    113 frigates
    124 corvettes
    63 ballistic missile submarines
    72 cruise missile submarine
    68 nuclear attack submarine
    63 conventional attack submarine
    9 auxiliary submarines
    35 amphibious warfare ships
    425 patrol boats

    • Alto@kbin.social
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      1 year ago

      Having all the ships in the world isn’t going to help you when the people operating them are incredibly incompetent