The modernization of the coastal base at the Gadzhievo naval garrison in the Murmansk region will be completed in September 2021.
This was reported to Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu during his visit to this facility, the press service of the military department reports.
“Completion of the work will allow to fully provide the ships at the berths with all energy media, communications, high-pressure air and high-purity water,” the website of the RF Ministry of Defense says.
In total, 49 different infrastructure facilities will be erected and reconstructed, including a mooring front for the deployment of nuclear submarine cruisers of the Navy.
One of the key goals of modernization is to turn Gadzhiyevo into a convenient harbor for the deployment of carriers of the Borey family of sea-based intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs).
Now at the coastal base are the submarine of project 955 ("Borey") "Yuri Dolgoruky" and the cruiser of project 955A ("Borey-A") "Prince Vladimir", which was accepted into the Northern Fleet in 2020.
During 2021, the composition of the Navy will be replenished with "Prince Oleg".
To date, three more cruisers are under construction: Generalissimo Suvorov, Emperor Alexander III and Prince Pozharsky.
The basis of the arsenal of these nuclear-powered ships are solid-propellant ICBMs R-30 "Bulava", developed by specialists from the Moscow Institute of Thermal Engineering.
Each Borey can carry 16 of these missiles.
In the future, the cruisers of Project 955 and Project 955A are intended to replace Project 667BDRM Dolphin submarines built at the end of the Cold War and armed with R-29RMU2.1 Liner liquid-propellant ICBMs.
This type of missile is considered the most powerful in the world, but less safe in operation than the Bulava.
"Maintenance of fundamentally new naval weapons"
Simultaneously with the accommodation point in Hajiyev, work is underway to improve the residential and social infrastructure.
During a visit to the garrison, Shoigu instructed the command of the Northern Fleet to prepare a comprehensive plan for the improvement of the town.
“Currently, the garrison is building three residential buildings with 300 apartments.
A total of eight houses are planned for construction in the residential area, five of which have already been commissioned and inhabited, ”the press service of the RF Ministry of Defense reports.
As the director of the Center for Military-Political Research of MGIMO Alexei Podberezkin explained in a commentary to RT, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation plans to create a full-fledged military town in Hajiyev, where sailors and their family members will comfortably live.
Decent living conditions are a necessary standard of military service in the modern world, the expert noted.
Residential complex in Hajiyev
© Ministry of Defense of Russia
Currently, in addition to Gadzhiev, the infrastructure for basing submarines is being modernized in the cradle of the Russian nuclear submarine fleet - the village of Zaozersk.
According to the commander of the Northern Fleet, Admiral Alexander Moiseyev, the improvement of the points of deployment of submarines is taking place in parallel with the development of new submarines.
“We continue to
successfully use and modernize
it (infrastructure. -
RT
), build new berths and storage facilities, systems for receiving, reloading and servicing fundamentally new naval weapons,” Moiseev said earlier.
As Podberezkin noted, the Northern Fleet, thanks to nuclear submarines, has a high degree of autonomy, but without convenient coastal bases it cannot function normally.
“Any ship must regularly return to its home port, undergo maintenance, scheduled repairs, and replenish supplies.
The powerful cruisers of the Northern Fleet are sophisticated naval equipment, their maintenance and preparation for going to sea creates a heavy load on the coastal infrastructure, ”Podberezkin explained.
Improving the basing system of the Northern Fleet is of exceptional importance for the Navy and the Russian state.
Vladimir Kiknadze, academic adviser of the Russian Academy of Missile and Artillery Sciences, who served in the Navy in the past, said this in an interview with RT.
“The coastal infrastructure, of course, helps in the operation of naval equipment and helps to unleash its combat potential.
Unfortunately, our country has repeatedly faced the fact that new types of equipment entered service without a service infrastructure prepared for this, ”Kiknadze stated.
According to the expert, the RF Ministry of Defense has learned a lesson from the mistakes of the past and takes into account in its plans the need for constant modernization of the basing system for the needs of the operation of new models of naval equipment.
“Here we see an absolutely correct decision.
Now, when ships of a new class are being built, the process of infrastructure modernization is being launched, which allows these ships to be subsequently accepted into the fleet, "Kiknadze added.
"Planned work"
According to experts, the modernization of the coastal infrastructure of the Northern Fleet provides the Russian Federation with serious competitive advantages in the face of growing military threats from the West.
As Shoigu said in Severomorsk at a meeting with the leadership of the RF Armed Forces and representatives of the shipbuilding industry, the United States and its allies are building up sea and land groupings in high latitudes.
However, according to the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation, the Northern Fleet is able to effectively withstand the existing challenges and threats of Russia in the polar region.
“To strengthen the defense capability of the Russian Federation and protect its national interests in the Arctic, the Ministry of Defense is systematically working to increase the combat capabilities of the Northern Fleet.
It is equipped with modern military equipment adapted for use in harsh climatic conditions.
Combat training is being actively pursued, various research activities are being carried out, ”Shoigu said.
New project 955A submarine cruiser "Prince Vladimir"
© Ministry of Defense of Russia
In his speech, the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation noted that the complex Arctic expedition Umka-2021 was completed last week.
In his opinion, the significance of these teachings "can hardly be overestimated."
“For the first time in the history of the Soviet submarine fleet, the Russian fleet, three nuclear submarines were surfaced from under the ice at the same time,” Shoigu said.
Recall that the ascent to the surface of nuclear submarines took place in the area of Alexandra Land Island at the end of March.
Having broken the one and a half meter ice, domestic submarines simultaneously surfaced at a short distance from each other.
According to the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, one of the nuclear-powered ships conducted practical torpedo firing from under the ice "followed by icing a practical torpedo, detecting it by technical means and lifting it to the surface."
Aviation and motorized rifle units of the RF Armed Forces were also involved in Umka-2021.
As the commander-in-chief of the Navy, Admiral Nikolai Evmenov, emphasized, the samples of equipment, which were tested in harsh natural and climatic conditions, confirmed their technical characteristics.
The actions of the Russian troops were highly appreciated by the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin.
“The crews of submarines, military transport aircraft, fighter aircraft, as well as Arctic motorized rifle units have shown increased combat training in the difficult environment of the Arctic.
The high combat capabilities of domestic weapons have been confirmed, as well as their reliability in operation in extreme conditions, "Putin said.
Russian troops intend to continue the practice of conducting integrated Arctic expeditions, working out tasks in new areas of the Arctic.
According to Kiknadze, in modern conditions the Northern Fleet demonstrates its readiness not only to ensure nuclear deterrence of the United States, but also to defend the economic projects of the Russian Federation in the Arctic, the implementation of which contradicts the plans of the NATO member countries.
Washington regularly expresses dissatisfaction with Moscow's increased activity in the Arctic.
For example, in early April, during a briefing, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby called the Arctic a "potential strategic corridor" between the Indo-Pacific region, Europe and the United States and a "key area extremely important for the defense" of the United States.
Navy submarines in Hajiyev
© Ministry of Defense of Russia
The American military department believes that as the ice melts in high latitudes, new opportunities open up for the transit of goods.
According to the Pentagon, the Arctic "is removing natural barriers that Russia once relied on to protect its interests in the region."
"Now she (Russia. -
RT
) seeks to strengthen its security by restoring Soviet-era airfields, expanding the network of missile systems for air and coastal defense, as well as developing capabilities to restrict and deny access and maneuver," the US Department of Defense said.
According to the forecast of Alexei Podberezkin, taking into account the growing interest in the Arctic on the part of Western states, the role of the Northern Fleet in ensuring national security will objectively increase.
“The Northern Fleet is already a priority for the security of our country.
He opposes the North Atlantic bloc.
Its development, the arrival of new equipment and the modernization of the coastal infrastructure are a priority strategic direction in the defense policy of Russia, ”Podberezkin emphasized.