In the structure of the 45th Army of the Air Force and Air Defense of the Northern Fleet (SF), two new aviation units appeared - the Guards Combined and Naval Antisubmarine Helicopter Regiments, the press service of the Northern Fleet reports. These compounds are deployed at the Severomorsk-1 airfield (Kirkenes Red Banner Base).
“The armament of a separate naval anti-submarine helicopter regiment of the Northern Fleet is equipped with Ka-27 helicopters in an anti-submarine and rescue version, as well as an attack Ka-29. The separate guards mixed air regiment includes crews of IL-38 anti-submarine aircraft and military transport aircraft, ”the Russian Defense Ministry website says.
Strengthening anti-submarine capabilities
In an interview with RT, doctor of military sciences, retired 1st rank captain Konstantin Sivkov explained that the creation of new aviation regiments is necessary, first of all, to strengthen anti-submarine defense of the northwestern regions of the Russian Federation.
The expert recalled that in the Murmansk and Arkhangelsk regions the main part of the Northern Fleet's infrastructure is located: naval bases (Vidyaevo, Belomorsk, Zapadnaya Litsa, Severomorsk, Gadzhievo, Polyarny), headquarters (Severomorsk), as well as a number of leading shipbuilding enterprises of the Russian Federation (Sevmash "," Asterisk ").
“The Northern Fleet is the most powerful operational-strategic association of the Navy, which, along with the Pacific Fleet, forms the basis of our marine component of the nuclear triad. Therefore, the north-western borders of the Russian Arctic need reliable protection, including from enemy submarines that conduct reconnaissance near our borders, ”Sivkov emphasized.
According to the expert, strengthening anti-submarine aircraft in the Barents Sea is the most adequate way to protect the Arctic borders of the Russian Federation. In modern conditions, the greatest threat to submarines is aircraft, capable of using special means to track and destroy enemy submarines, said Sivkov.
In RT commentary, Honored Pilot of the Russian Federation Major General Vladimir Popov emphasized that the issue of anti-submarine defense for the Northern Fleet is of great importance due to the specific geography of the north-western region of the Russian Arctic.
“Firstly, the Murmansk region borders on Norway, where the American military presence is growing. Secondly, the geographical feature of the Barents Sea, where there are training ranges and combat duty areas of the Northern Fleet, is such that, due to the absence of natural obstacles, foreign warships can relatively easily enter, ”said Popov.
According to the expert, it is quite natural that in the context of intensive intelligence activities of NATO, Russia is strengthening anti-submarine capabilities in the Arctic direction. Popov also drew attention to the fact that in the economic zone of the Russian Federation in the Arctic there are large fishing areas and energy deposits, which also need to be patrolled by the Northern Fleet.
- Russian patrol plane flies over the Arctic
- © Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation
The threats posed by alliance member states in the Arctic are described in detail in a report of the Federation Council entitled “Problems of ensuring national security of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation”. The document says that the military activity of Western states increases "the likelihood of unleashing military conflicts of varying intensity against Russia."
According to the Federation Council, plans to expand zones of national jurisdiction are hatched by the United States, Denmark, Norway and Canada. These states are trying to limit the growth of Russian influence in the Arctic and redistribute “traditional maritime state borders at the expense of Russia”.
Also, as noted in the report, NATO’s increased military activity is manifested in the regular conduct of large-scale military exercises with the use of submarines, robotics and UAVs, the deployment of new Arctic forces, and an increase in the intensity of military aviation flights, including strategic ones.
"Range of combat capabilities"
In recent years, the RF Ministry of Defense has been implementing a set of measures to develop an aviation presence in the Arctic. Since 2013, the Northern Fleet aviation has been patrolling the Arctic on an ongoing basis. We are talking about long-range anti-submarine aircraft Tu-142 and IL-38. Flights are carried out over the neutral waters of the Arctic Ocean and along the Northern Sea Route (NSR).
From the information of the Ministry of Defense it follows that the geography of Tu-142 and Il-38 flights is constantly expanding. During patrols, aircraft crews transmit important information for navigating ships. Also, pilots improve their management skills in difficult conditions of high arctic latitudes.
The Arctic is characterized by unstable meteorological conditions, the uniformity of the terrain with a small number of visual and radio engineering landmarks. In addition, the Arctic is characterized by strong magnetic anomalies due to its proximity to the pole. As a result, the propagation of radio waves becomes unstable, which worsens radio communications and limits the use of airborne equipment, according to the materials of the Ministry of Defense.
In August, on the border of the Barents and Norwegian seas, Tu-142 and Il-38 crews took part in the Northern Fleet exercises to detect and destroy conditional enemy submarines. At the final stage of the maneuvers, they carried out bombing.
The plans of the military deployment of operational tactical aircraft to the Arctic. In April 2016, the Commander of the Northern Fleet (since May - Commander-in-Chief of the Navy) Nikolay Evmenov reported to the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation Sergey Shoigu that a link of MiG-31 fighter-interceptors or Su-34 front-line bombers could be deployed in the Arctic.
In January, the Izvestia newspaper, citing the Russian Ministry of Defense, announced that by the end of the year two MiG-31BM squadrons of the Northern and Pacific fleets would begin to patrol the Arctic. Last year, the military conducted a series of flight tactical exercises using these aircraft. During the maneuvers, the crews flew over 4 thousand km and refuel in the air.
- MiG-31 fighter
- © Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation
According to the Ministry of Defense, in October, the MiG-31 pair relocated from the Yelizovo Kamchatka Territory airbase to the operational airfield in Anadyr in the absence of ground-based radio navigation aids. During the flight, fighter crews worked off electronic launches of long-range air-to-air missiles.
According to TASS sources in the military-industrial complex, in mid-November, the MiG-31 launched for the first time in the Arctic region the launch of the X-47M2 Dagger hypersonic missile. Ammunition hit the target at the Pemboy range (Vorkuta). The speed of the rocket reached 10 Machs.
“The MiG-31 is a unique interceptor capable of completing missions over long distances. It was specially developed in the Soviet years to cover vast Arctic spaces. With the advent of the “Dagger” the range of combat capabilities of the MiG-31 became wider. Modifications of this fighter are capable of hitting large surface and ground targets, ”said Popov.
Also, according to Izvestia, the Ministry of Defense intends to form a Su-34 squadron in the Northern Fleet to protect the NSR. The aircraft has flight qualities that allow it to overcome gigantic distances. So, without refueling, it can fly up to 4.5 thousand km, and with refueling - about 7 thousand km.
“In my opinion, the Su-34 is necessary in the Arctic so that our“ Western partners ”do not even have a desire to send warships and submarines to the Northern Sea Route. The Su-34 can use ammunition that can send almost any naval equipment to the bottom, ”Popov said.
The expansion of Russia's aviation presence in the Arctic is accompanied by the development of an airfield network. At the beginning of 2019, the Ministry of Defense completed the reconstruction of 19 airfields in the Arctic region, which were abandoned after the collapse of the USSR. In the near future several new air harbors will be commissioned.
The northernmost airfield of the Russian Federation is being built on the Franz Josef Land archipelago. In a March interview with the Krasnaya Zvezda newspaper, the chief of naval aviation of the Navy, Major General Igor Kozhin, said that most Russian airfields in the Arctic will become year-round and will be able to accept all types of aircraft.
Vladimir Popov believes that the developed infrastructure in the Arctic will greatly simplify the performance of many aviation tasks in the region. In addition, the new air harbors will serve as jump airfields for strategic bombers, which will objectively enhance the capabilities of the air component of the Russian nuclear triad.
“I think that our military aircraft will serve on rotational basis at Arctic airfields. Air harbors will be equipped with everything necessary for refueling, maintenance and arming aircraft. The creation of an airfield network will allow domestic aircraft and helicopters to effectively carry out tasks both in peacetime and in a threatened period, ”Popov concluded.