Russian spy ship located off Delaware coast

What's next for our new president, Iran firing a ballistic missile in spite of our agreement? Oh wait, that already happened .  .  .  so did North Korea.

Now we've spotted a Russian spy ship, the SSV-175 Viktor Leonov, off the coast of Delaware Tuesday morning. The last time this ship sailed near the U.S. was April 2015 and it was also seen in Havana in January the same year. 

The ship is capable of intercepting signals and communications, known as SIGINT, and can also measure U.S. Navy sonar capabilities. It's also armed with surface-to-air missiles (SAMs).

One official said that "It's not a huge concern, but we are keeping our eyes on it."

Push is coming to shove.

At least former President Obama made BFFs with the Cuban dictator, Raul Castro, so there should be nothing to concern us--the friend of our new friend is our new friend. 

Duh.

The ship was seen patrolling 70 miles off the East Coast in international waters the same day we learned the Kremlin secretly deployed cruise missiles inside Russia and buzzed a U.S. Navy destroyer. The ship was moving north at 10 knots and it isn't known where it may be heading.

A U.S. official said that Russia had deployed ground-launched cruise missiles to two Russian locations in December. The New York Times had reported that the Obama administration had previously seen the missiles, still in a testing phase at that time, and in violation of a 1987 treaty between us and Russia. The treaty bans ground-launched intermediate-range missiles.

Now it seems that Russia is testing our new POTUS which is seeking better ties with Moscow. However, this comes in the wake of National Security Adviser Michael Flynn's resignation due to the scandals regarding his communications with Russia.

Playing another trump card, a report from The Washington Free Beacon said that four Russian jets buzzed the USS Porter in the Black Sea on Friday.

"There were several incidents involving multiple Russian aircraft," said Navy Capt. Danny Hernandez, a spokesman for the European Command. "They were assessed by the commanding officer as unsafe and unprofessional."

This is beginning to sound a bit like the previous administration's response to this kind of behavior but maybe President Trump isn't tipping his hand.

Russian spy ships have a history of loitering near our coast in international waters. They have done so off Kings Bay, GA., where our Navy ballistic missile submarine base is located. Most recently, a Russian spy ship was seen in that area in September 2015.

We are able to monitor these waters with satellites. 


Tweet