Polar maneuvers: the Ministry of Defense announced an increase in the activity of the US Navy off the coast of Chukotka

The United States has increased the activity of its Navy in the Chukotka region. This was stated by the chief of staff of the Joint Command of the Armed Forces in the northeast, Mikhail Bilichenko, on the air of the Military Reception program on the Zvezda television channel.

The Russian military leader noted that the activity of the US Armed Forces in this direction was noted earlier, however, it was part of the daily operational combat training.

“Now the composition of the groupings is increasing, including the landing of amphibious assault forces,” Bilichenko said.

In an interview with RT, head of the Department of Political Science and Sociology Plekhanova Andrei Koshkin said that such US actions are spelled out in the strategic documents of this country. According to him, Washington and its NATO allies will increase activity in the Arctic latitudes.

“The US and NATO conduct various kinds of exercises in which the emphasis is on the fact that the military personnel of the alliance countries must be able to successfully carry out combat missions in the Arctic latitudes at the lowest possible temperatures. These exercises are anti-Russian and designed to increase military pressure on the Russian Federation. All this is connected with the missed opportunities of the Arctic states, which are now in a hurry to catch up and secure their presence in this region, ”the expert noted.

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Arctic frontier

Over the past few years, the United States began to actively prepare for warfare in the regions beyond the Arctic Circle, to which Chukotka belongs.

The Arctic was previously the scene of military rivalry between the Soviet Union and the United States. Both countries deployed a nuclear submarine fleet, strategic bombers and tactical aircraft there.

After the collapse of the USSR, the importance of the region for the Pentagon decreased. But after Russia began to actively implement projects in the Arctic, the United States also began to strengthen its position there.

In June 2019, Alaska Senator Dan Sullivan stated that the Arctic was allegedly becoming more militarized due to Russia and this was a challenge for the United States. He also noted that Moscow’s control of the Northern Sea Route is contrary to Washington’s interests.

The senator also called on the Pentagon to strengthen its position in the Arctic, in particular, to build a strategic military port there. Beyond the Arctic Circle and on the west coast of Alaska, the United States does not have the infrastructure that could service ships reaching the size of destroyers, he stressed.

Reports of increased activity by the US Navy in the Arctic indicate that Washington has begun to lag behind in the development of the Arctic zone. This opinion is shared by the corresponding member of the Academy of Military Sciences Sergey Sudakov.

“The United States still does not understand how they can respond to Russia with military or economic means and stop its influence on the Arctic,” he said in an interview with RT.

Moscow’s control of the Northern Sea Route is of particular concern to the American political and military establishment, the analyst believes.

“In the future, the Northern Sea Route may become an important route for transporting Chinese goods to Europe, and China is a key rival in terms of economic development for the United States. Americans will think how military precedents can be created by military efforts to stop the development of Arctic projects, ”Sudakov said.

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Northern Strategy

In 2014, Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed the Ministry of Defense to create a unified base system for surface ships and submarines of a new generation in the Arctic, strengthen the border, and also create a special structure that would be responsible for protecting Russian interests in this region. By the end of 2014, the Northern Fleet Joint Strategic Command (OSK) was created in the structure of the RF Armed Forces, including submarine and surface ships, naval aviation, air defense, and coastal forces.

Today Russia has the most powerful northern grouping: the Northern Fleet has 43 surface ships and 41 submarines.

In addition, Russia is strengthening the region’s air defense system. In September 2019, the Northern Fleet Air Defense Regiment was deployed on Novaya Zemlya, re-equipped with S-400 Triumph long-range anti-aircraft missile systems. As noted in the press service of the Northern Fleet, the military has significantly increased the "zone of controlled airspace in the Arctic."

On December 25, the Ministry of Defense announced the completion of the first phase of the construction of the Northern Fleet air defense base in the Yakut port of Tiksi.

In a message to the Federal Assembly in 2018, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the Russian “Arctic fleet was, remains and will be the most powerful in the world.”

In addition, Bastion coastal systems are located in Chukotka, which can fire onyx cruise missiles. At the end of September 2019, Pacific Fleet troops launched the Onyx for the first time, successfully hitting the training target.

Sergei Sudakov notes that the Bastion complexes and other Russian missile systems guarantee the security of the region.

“Russia has a good“ dome ”. The United States is now facing a certain technological lag in the military sphere. This is a slap for them, because it seemed to them that Russia does not represent anything from an economic and military point of view, but in reality they have miscalculated quite a bit, ”the expert noted.

According to Andrei Koshkin, Russia has more than enough funds to “adequately respond to claims” from the United States.

“Today, the United States recognizes that Russia's presence in the Arctic latitudes is very stable. Moscow has more than enough forces, means, resources, because it was able in time to provide places of permanent deployment, to select the appropriate ammunition to ensure the successful actions of personnel in combat conditions at extremely low temperatures. In addition, now the enterprises of the military-industrial complex are quite actively continuing to develop and supply weapons and military equipment for operations in these regions, ”the expert concluded.