HMM: Seven Russian Warships Are Doing Something Weird Near Hawaii. “A large Russian Navy task force, including the flagship of Moscow’s Pacific Fleet, is cruising pretty far from home: just south of Hawaii. The U.S. government, meanwhile, appears to be preparing for a major missile defense test. It sure seems like the two incidents are related.”

With the guided-missile cruiser (and flagship of the Russian Pacific Fleet) Varyag in command, those seven ships represent the majority of Russia’s surface seapower in the Pacific.