comment: >
context: Tl;dr Passage of warships is still denied to everyone so the US warship is visiting the bosphorus without crossing >
  
  Correct me if I'm wrong, but the Montreux Convention prevents warships of the countries at war from crossing the Bosphorus and Dardanelles Straits. Under peacetime conditions, warships are allowed to cross under certain conditions and provided it's approved by Turkey.
  So couldn't the US argue that since it's not at war with either Ukraine or Russia and be allowed to cross? >
  
  Theres no need for that because if the us presses the issue they can have their warships pass through, which already happened in the past during cold war.
  Currently everyone is focused on keeping the russian ships out of the black sea. Several russian ships from pacific fleet were denied entry and knowing this prevents russia from sending everything they have to ukrainian shores.
  Since the us has nothing to do other than show of force in the black sea, pushing the issue and sending their ships through the bosphorus would gain them nothing positive. However it would give russia the excuse they need and make it difficult if not impossible to justify sending russian warships away.
  So it's better if the us warships visit the bosphorus without crossing. They can, if they want to, but they really shouldn't. >
  
  Ah, soft power in action. It's not loud and doesn't make idiots feel strong at home, but so much of the US's naval policy is to be without doing. 
  It's not that the US is there, but that it can be there. Such a public presence let's Russia know that the United States sits on Russia's border of naval influence and reminds Russia that the US can penetrate in with relative impunity. >
  
  The US Navy just silently wishing a mf would, and hanging out right in the background just so you know that they know that you know >
  
  The airforce has been doing something similar, if you go on flight tracker, there’s usually a AWACS on the Polish-Ukraine border, and a global hawk recon drone (Callsign FORTE10) right on the international waters line south of Sebastopol. >
  
  Plus all the tankers loitering all along the borders of Russia, Moldova, Belarus etc pretty much 24/7 since this invasion started. They're refueling something we usually can't see, though occasionally you catch a glimpse of an F16 or F18 or some such before they go dark. Just having those tankers there with transponders on is sending a message as well - the public can see the flying gas stations, which means they have to be servicing something else >
  
  
  though occasionally you catch a glimpse of an F16 or F18 or some such before they go dark.
  
  I remember back when every NATO transponder around the Europe area went dark. >
  
  When was that? >
  
  Like the beginning of March in 2022. >
  
  Here's a quick warning. Ours work. >
  
  meanwhile French "warning shots" be like a nuclear missile >
  
  They seem to have been spending and keeping their military well equipped compared to some of those European NATO members that embraced peace. This is not a criticism of those countries, I also believed that we were finally done with arms races and geopolitical conflicts and that we could finally come together embracing peace and not spending massive amounts of money on defence. Now you got the stupidity of Putin and Winnie the Pooh in China also trying to flex the CCP's supposed muscles and intimidating all of it's neighbours. >
  
  Some of us are pretty done with war, but not everybody is.
  Just look around the globe.  Most are likely not going to fuck with NATO and just keep fighting amongst themselves.  But never say never.
  It's folly to not be prepared to defend yourself.
  This Ukraine war was a huge wakeup call to EU members, and their increased in defense spending reflects that it actually hit home. >
  
  This is the Military equivalent of asking your parents when they'll be back and you responding
  "Oh, No reason."
  Definitely no boning. >
  
  Great photo! Istanbul is always so photogenic. >
  
  I don't know, it's kind of hazy in that pic. I always imagine ~~Constantinopla~~ Istanbul as a bright and sunny city, like in this pic. >
  
  
  Constantinopla Istanbul
  
  You mean Byzantium? >
  
  that is nobody's business but the Turks >
  
  It’s just spoiling for a fight. >
  
  This is AEGIS. Russia sent Iskanders into Belorussia a few days ago. This is positioning assets.
  Should be noted that Russia transferred nuclear weapons to Belorussia last year. 
  This is a contravention of agreements signed by Russia, it's quite severe.
  This gives Russia shorter distance to target: Warsaw, Berlin and so on. >
  
  Aegis of the immortal >
  
  USN is significantly more powerful than Roshan. >
  
  Their AEGIS system can track EVERYTHING in the sky and target anything it chooses, from missiles to satellites. This would be a unit that would knock down any special kinds of missiles as well. 🫥 >
  
  You make a good point and there's a lot more trust in American military technology right now than there has been for a long time. The US military-industrial complex has still been going strong and they're about to get some serious cashflow considering how many countries are trying to rearm as quickly as possible. >
  
  It’s quite interesting, people have complained about military spending for a long time, primarily because it didn’t seem relevant.
  A result though is that ours systems have always worked and been continuously upgraded. We have known for a while how unlikely other countries systems are to perform as advertised or how accurate their targeting is. >
  
  Don’t shake the war eagles nest Vlad >
  
  He's just Stalin for time. >
  
  i live near several military bases, but the one closest to me rarely made a peep.  usually a random chinook flying randomly (maybe a few times a week) that would shake the house, and usually when the president visits, they land at this smaller base instead of the commercial airport, and other than that, nothing.  but since february last year, i hear more and more military aircraft flying at all hours of the day and night, nearly every single day.  i don't think this is a coincidence.  i hope russia understands that we aren't a country you fuck around with.  i think the kremlin knows this, but their propaganda mouthpieces spew garbage nonetheless.  i guarantee our government/military is basically acting identically to assuming we're going to end up in a real war with russia, to be safe/prepared, as it's a real possibility.  makes sense though, if you know war is coming, you prepare.  we don't know for sure, but since it's a possibility, time to get in more training hours and bolster up >
  
  The US Navy is the great reminder to not be too f----ing stupid lol Or basically they sit there going, We quadruple dog dare you. >
  
  Oh boy my old command >
  
  Is there anything that a modern ship like this would be vulnerable to? They seem like the sort of ships that would be able to destroy anything at long range. >
  
  General strategy is either use missiles in a sea-skimming mode or just use more missiles. Burke class apparently has ASW capabilities, but for a single ship a submarine might be sneaky enough.
  If you happen to have a battleship floating around, that might be worth a go, but modern anti ship missiles are probably quite effective vs them.
  You might also get decent results by fitting a missile with a multi-drone payload, but CIWS can probably track those by now.
  Other poster mentioned the Cole, but that was in port, so getting a 'civilian' vessel close was easier. >
  
  
  If you happen to have a battleship floating around
  
  What is this WW2 nonsense, it's all FFGs and DDGs now. >
  
  Hence the wording. Battleships didn't really compete with air power and missiles. >
  
  Destroyer, Destroy! >
  
  More likely this is the US response to the Russian Navy sending that Destroyer over our way last week to “flex” their muscles and threaten us with a simulated launch of a hypersonic cruise missile in the Atlantic. >
  
  Let them, Turkey. >
  
  Nice they need a couple of flat tops too >
  
  Russia: This is blatant and reckless escalation! If war happens, they are to blame! >
  
  People like to poke fun at the Navy and Air Force and how they aren’t as tough as the Army and the Marines, but they are one of the reasons why the major powers haven’t (directly) engaged in hostilities with the US since Korea.  You can fire a couple of rpgs and take out HUMVs  and chinook’s; it’s a lot harder to do that do a guided-missile destroyer… especially since the destroyer can call air support from a nuclear powered landing strip.
  Also the Airforce can bomb you from the stratosphere with 3X the amount of bombs as it’s heaviest bomber from the Korean War. >
  
  What would happen if the US got Romania or Bulgaria to build warships for them and then leased a naval base? USN in the Black Sea without having to traverse the Straits? >
  
  Hmm, bet it can destroy stuff. A lot of stuff.