On June 1, members of the Northern Fleet (NF), the most powerful operational and strategic association of the Navy, celebrate their professional holiday. This formation is responsible for the defense of vast Arctic spaces from Murmansk to Chukotka, and the protection of the economic resources of the Arctic and the Northern Sea Route. Another major task of the Federation Council is to ensure nuclear deterrence of Western states.
In recent years, the leadership of the Russian Federation attaches great importance to the development of the Northern Fleet. On December 1, 2014, the Northern Fleet was removed from the subordination of the commander of the Western Military District and included in the Sever Joint Strategic Command (OSK), later renamed the Northern Fleet.
The reform made it possible to concentrate in a single center the control threads of all the Arctic units of the RF Armed Forces. Today, the Northern Fleet includes formations of surface ships and submarines, a marines brigade, part of the airborne forces, ground forces and air defense.
- © Ministry of Defense of Russia
“We proceed from the nation-wide approach that in the Arctic there are no challenges requiring a military solution. However, the Russian Federation sees the buildup of its military potential in the Arctic zone as a necessary measure to counter possible threats and create favorable conditions for the realization of national interests, ”said the commander of the Federation Council, Vice Admiral Alexander Moiseev, speaking at the Arctic: Present and future ”in St. Petersburg.
Planned upgrade
At the beginning of 2020, the share of modern weapons in the arsenal of the Northern Fleet was about 70%. According to experts, the main drivers of modernization of the Northern Fleet are the supply of a variety of radar stations and anti-aircraft missile systems (SAM), including the S-400 Triumph, Tor-M2DT, S-300, and Pantsir-S1.
The naval group of the Northern Fleet is gradually being updated. An important event of recent days has been the transfer of the Strategic Missile Submarine Strategic Rocket Cruiser (SSBN) “Prince Vladimir” of project 955A “Borey-A”. In October 2019, the cruiser for the first time carried out a test launch of the R-30 Bulava intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), and in mid-May of this year, the submarine crew made a control launch at sea.
“Prince Vladimir” is the lead submarine of the improved project 955A, which is designed to become the basis of the marine component of the nuclear triad. This submarine differs from its predecessors in reduced noise, an improved form of the hull and protruding structures, and a new OK-650V water-cooled nuclear reactor with thermal neutrons.
Currently, there is only one representative of the Boreev family in the Northern Fleet - Yuri Dolgoruky. In the coming years, the St. Andrew’s flag will be raised above the prince Pozharsky cruiser, which is now being built at the Sevmash production association.
Ammunition of each Borea includes 16 ICBM Bulava. One missile can carry 6-10 individual guidance warheads, with a combined capacity of up to 900-1500 kilotons. According to CNBC sources, the United States air defense systems are not able to ensure their interception.
In an interview with RT, military expert Alexei Leonkov noted that, in general, the rearmament of the Northern Fleet is taking place as planned. Ships in which the modernization potential is laid are sent to the docks, outdated ships and submarines are replaced with new models.
“The main emphasis in the modernization of the Northern Fleet is on the installation of new equipment and missile weapons. The number of ships equipped with "Caliber" is increasing. In the future, hypersonic Zircons will be in service, ”Leonkov recalled.
- Strategic nuclear-powered missile cruiser Prince Vladimir of project 955A (code Borey-A) in the water area of Severodvinsk
- RIA News
Director of the Center for Military-Political Studies of MGIMO, Alexey Podberezkin, believes that the modernization of the Northern Fleet is defensive in nature.
In his opinion, the emergence of new missile systems and a wide range of air defense systems is necessary primarily to protect the economic interests of the Russian Federation in the Arctic and to cover military infrastructure facilities.
“The Northern Fleet is designed to protect a huge macro-region. The Arctic is extremely rich in diverse natural resources. Naturally, to protect this economic zone, many means are needed to detect and defeat a potential adversary who encroaches on Russia's sovereign right to conduct its economic activities, ”says Podberyozkin.
Hostile Presence
As the Defense Ministry and the Russian Foreign Ministry have repeatedly noted, one of the key challenges for Russia in the Arctic is the military-political activity of the United States and its allies. Western states carry out intensive exercises at which various combat missions are practiced, including landing.
In the first half of May, a group of NATO ships, consisting of three American destroyers and one British frigate, entered the Barents Sea for several days in order to demonstrate "a commitment to freedom of navigation in Arctic and European waters." The Northern Fleet was forced to escort four ships of the alliance, performing maneuvers near the borders of the Russian Federation.
Washington does not hide the fact that they are dissatisfied with the development of the military infrastructure of Moscow in the Arctic. So, in mid-May, the State Department announced that the United States would "respond to Russia's increasing presence in the Arctic." According to the American agency, "The Northern Fleet seeks to jeopardize the Faroe-Icelandic frontier in order to prevent the United States and Canada from reacting and sending reinforcements in the event of a crisis."
In March 2020, speaking in Congress, General Terrence O'Shaughnessy, head of the US Northern Command, lamented the “strengthening hostile presence in the Arctic,” without explaining exactly what he had in mind. At the same time, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov during a press conference in January 2020 stressed that NATO “has no reason to bring military methods of work to the Arctic.”
Last December, Alexander Moiseev also expressed concern about the growing ambitions of the North Atlantic Alliance in the Arctic. According to the commander of the Northern Fleet, foreign states interested in the economic development of the region proceed from the possibility of using “military force”.
- The heavy nuclear missile cruiser Peter the Great in the Atlantic Ocean
- RIA News
- © Andrey Luzik
Experts believe that the tension on the Arctic borders will continue to increase. In their view, NATO will increase the intensity of exercises at high latitudes and develop military infrastructure.
At the same time, analysts drew attention to the shortage of member countries of the alliance, including the United States, of ice-class vessels, weapons and special units adapted to carry out tasks in the Arctic.
“The development of the Northern Fleet takes place in such a way that the amount of forces and means is adequate to the threats that the enemy can create. Of course, in its current form, the Northern Fleet is able to fend off any possible encroachments and provocations on the part of foreign states. Moreover, our cruisers, carriers of nuclear weapons, regularly patrol the Atlantic, ”Leonkov emphasized.
The expert believes that the arsenal of the Northern Fleet allows destroying enemy naval groups at distant frontiers and providing effective anti-submarine and anti-aircraft defense.
A similar point of view is shared by Aleksey Podberyozkin, who emphasized that the Federation Council "has a unique strategic significance."
“The Northern Fleet is in maximum contact with the NATO member countries, and the USA proceeds from the fact that the North Atlantic is their line of anti-submarine defense. Therefore, it is no coincidence that the Northern Fleet is the most powerful operational and strategic association of the Navy, where the largest and most modern ships are concentrated, ”summed up Podberezkin.