June 1 is the Day of the Northern Fleet in Russia.
At a briefing timed to coincide with the holiday, the commander of this interspecific strategic formation of the Russian Armed Forces, Admiral Alexander Moiseev, said that in 2022 the fleet will receive 530 units of the latest weapons.
“The Northern Fleet is being re-equipped with new types of weapons.
This year, 530 units of modern weapons should be delivered, as a result, by the end of the year, their share will reach 63.5%, ”Moiseev said on board the Pyotr Veliky heavy nuclear missile cruiser.
According to him, by 2033, carriers of high-precision long-range weapons will form the basis of the fleet's general-purpose forces.
“Taking into account the trends towards the unification and universality of weapons and equipment, the general-purpose naval forces of the fleet will represent multi-purpose ships and submarines of five to six projects.
Basically, these will be carriers of high-precision long-range weapons, including hypersonic weapons, ”Moiseev emphasized.
The commander also spoke about the development of the fleet's infrastructure.
According to him, the construction of workshops for the preparation and maintenance of missile and naval underwater weapons is underway at the arsenals of the Northern Fleet in Gadzhiev and Severomorsk.
Work continues on the creation of the Arkhangelsk production and logistics complex, which will ensure the storage of more than 100 thousand tons of materiel and 265 weapons, military and special equipment, and reduce the cost of maintaining facilities by 347 million rubles a year.
Moiseev added that the dual-use seaports of Tiksi and Dikson will be reconstructed as part of the implementation of the President's instructions for the development of the Northern Sea Route.
This will allow the fleet forces to quickly respond to possible threats to the safety of navigation along the entire length of the NSR.
“They are going to a confrontation with Russia”
The day of the Northern Fleet is celebrated on June 1, since in 1933 a circular on the creation of the Northern Flotilla was issued on this day.
However, the naval forces in the region appeared much earlier: back in 1733, the Arkhangelsk military port was created and a squadron was formed on its basis - the first full-time formation of warships in the Russian North.
Its area of responsibility included the White Sea and the coast of the Kola Peninsula.
Since then, the scope of the Northern Fleet has expanded significantly.
The Ministry of Defense notes that the Northern Fleet is intended to protect Russia's national interests in the Arctic, as well as in other areas of the World Ocean within the established limits of responsibility.
The main base of the fleet is located in Severomorsk.
Base points are also located in Vidyaev, Gadzhiev, Gremikha, Zapadnaya Litsa and Polyarny.
In addition, the White Sea Naval Base operates in Severodvinsk.
An important milestone in the history of the Northern Fleet came in 2014, analysts say, when President Vladimir Putin instructed the government to create a unified system for basing surface ships and submarines in the Arctic, strengthen the border, and form a state body to implement Russia's policy in the region.
For these purposes, on December 1, 2014, the Northern Fleet Joint Strategic Command (USC) was created on the basis of the Northern Fleet.
Territories and military units were allocated from the Western District, which were assigned to the new structure.
In addition, the fleet was reinforced by the ground forces of the Central and Eastern military districts deployed in the Arctic.
In the same year, the construction of military facilities began on Alexandra Land (Franz Josef Land archipelago), in the village of Rogachevo on Novaya Zemlya, on Sredny Island (Severnaya Zemlya archipelago), on Cape Schmidt and Wrangel Island in Chukotka, as well as on Kotelny Island ( Novosibirsk Islands).
Nearly 1.5 thousand employees of Spetsstroy were engaged in construction.
Subsequently, groupings of USC troops were deployed at the created bases.
In 2020, Vladimir Putin signed a decree according to which the Northern Fleet was equated to a military district.
Thus, the Northern Fleet became the only fleet in the history of Russia, endowed with such a status and authority.
A caravan of transport ships escorted by icebreakers passes along the Northern Sea Route
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© Andrey Solomonov
The association's area of responsibility extends from Murmansk to Anadyr.
According to experts, this region is of strategic importance for Russia, since the Northern Sea Route runs here - the shortest sea route from Asia to Europe.
Analysts believe that as the climate changes and the ice melts, the NSR will become increasingly important in world trade.
Already, the Russian Federation is actively investing in the development of its infrastructure.
“The Northern Sea Route is becoming very important as a transport route along the coast of Russia and as a connection between Asia and Europe by the shortest sea route.
The Great Patriotic War showed the importance of defending this northern sea front of Russia.
And now its importance is only growing.
Therefore, the Russian Federation is building new bases both on the mainland and on the numerous islands that Russia has in the Arctic, ”Konstantin Strelbitsky, chairman of the Moscow Fleet History Club, explained in an interview with RT.
However, Western countries, mainly the US, are trying to challenge Russia's leading role in the region.
This topic was also raised by the commander of the Northern Fleet, Admiral Alexander Moiseev.
He noted that the military-political situation in the Arctic is characterized by an expansion of the foreign military presence and an increase in the intensity of operational and combat training of the US and NATO Armed Forces, aimed at containing the Russian Federation in the region.
“The United States is clearly going to a confrontation with Russia, realizing plans to expand the alliance.
The entry of Finland and Sweden into NATO is proof of this.
All this cannot but disturb us.
We must take adequate measures, and there is no doubt that they will be taken,” the commander of the Northern Fleet emphasized.
Navy, air defense and ground forces
The structure of the Joint Strategic Command "Northern Fleet" includes submarine forces, the Kola flotilla of diverse forces, the Belomorsk naval base, the 45th Army of the Air Force and Air Defense, as well as ground and coastal troops: the 61st separate brigade of marines, the 200th a separate motorized rifle brigade and the 80th separate motorized rifle brigade of the Arctic.
According to open sources, the Northern Fleet includes 82 surface ships and submarines, and by the end of 2022, the third project 22350 frigate, Admiral Golovko, should be put into operation.
According to Alexander Moiseev, he will become the first full-time carrier of sea-based hypersonic weapons.
The fleet's flagship is the Project 1144 Orlan heavy nuclear missile cruiser Peter the Great.
The cruiser's cruising range is virtually unlimited, since the ship's power plant runs on nuclear energy: it has two fast-neutron nuclear reactors with a total capacity of 600 MW.
The total power of the turbines in this case reaches 140 thousand liters.
with., which allows the cruiser to reach speeds of up to 31 knots (about 57 km / h).
Heavy nuclear missile cruiser "Peter the Great" on the roads in the Kola Bay near Severomorsk
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© Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation
The Peter the Great is armed with the Granit anti-ship missile system and the RPK-6M Vodopad anti-submarine missile and torpedo system, the Kinzhal air defense system and the S-300FM Fort-M, the Kortik anti-aircraft missile and artillery system, the reactive the RBU-1000 Smerch-3 bombing mount, the Udav-1M anti-torpedo defense missile system and the AK-130 universal turret artillery system.
In addition, up to three Ka-27 heavy multipurpose helicopters can be based on the cruiser.
Below the deck of the cruiser is equipped with a special hangar and lift.
The Northern Fleet also includes the cruiser Admiral Nakhimov of a similar class, which is now in the docks for repairs and modernization.
It should return to service in 2023.
It is also worth noting that the Northern Fleet has the only aircraft carrier in Russia - the Project 1143.5 heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser Admiral Kuznetsov of the Fleet of the Soviet Union.
The Northern Fleet is gradually replenished with new generation ships.
In the 2010s, frigates of project 22350 began to enter service with the Northern Fleet. Now two ships of this project are serving in the fleet: Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Gorshkov and Admiral of the Fleet Kasatonov.
In addition, in recent years, two large landing ships of project 11711 "Ivan Gren" and "Pyotr Morgunov" have entered the fleet.
Nuclear missile shield
The nuclear deterrence function entrusted to it gives the Northern Fleet special strategic importance.
It includes nuclear submarines of projects 941 "Akula", 955 "Borey" and 667BDRM "Dolphin" with ballistic missiles on board.
They are part of Russia's nuclear triad.
“As part of the strategic deterrence by missile submarines of the fleet, the tasks of combat patrols and combat duty in specified areas of the oceans are continuously being solved,” the website of the Ministry of Defense states.
Members of the crew of the nuclear submarine "Yuri Dolgoruky" of the Northern Fleet of the Russian Navy, moored in Gadzhiev, Murmansk Region
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© Ramil Sitdikov
Submarines of projects 955 "Borey" and 955A "Borey-A" are the latest submarines that began to enter service with the Northern Fleet in the 2010s.
Now the submarines "Yuri Dolgoruky" and "Prince Vladimir" are on combat duty.
The submarines "Prince Pozharsky", "Dmitry Donskoy" and "Prince Potemkin" are at different stages of construction.
The ships of this project are designed to replace the submarines of the Shark and Dolphin projects developed back in the USSR.
According to the commander of the Northern Fleet Alexander Moiseev, submarines of this type will be the basis of naval strategic nuclear forces in the next 30-40 years.
Boreys are equipped with 16 R-30 Bulava missiles, which can carry from six to ten individually targetable nuclear units.
The range of the R-30 is, according to various sources, from 8 thousand to 10 thousand km.
ICBMs can overcome any existing enemy air defense systems.
Formidable weapons in the Northern Fleet are also the latest nuclear submarines of projects 885 Yasen and 885M Yasen-M, Severodvinsk and Kazan.
Three more submarines of this type are expected to enter service.
The ships of this series are designed to fight against submarines and ship formations, as well as to strike at enemy ground targets.
They are equipped with vertical launchers that can fire high-precision cruise missiles in salvos.
Eight such installations are placed on one ship, while the ammunition is 24 Onyx or Caliber missiles.
To launch torpedoes, ten 533 mm caliber devices are installed on the submarine.
At the same time, the torpedo-missile system can conduct both single and salvo fire.
In addition, the Northern Fleet is replenished with modern diesel-electric submarines of the 677 Lada series, which, like the 636 Varshavyanka project, are a further development of the 877 Halibut series submarines.
The tasks of these ships include operations against submarines and warships of a potential enemy in a limited area of operations, coastal and strait zones.
They can also attack ground targets with cruise missiles.
One of the main features of these submarines is their low visibility.
So far, only one submarine of this type, the St. Petersburg, has been adopted by the Northern Fleet.
Two more submarines (Kronstadt and Velikiye Luki) are under construction.
"Open Ocean Fleet"
According to analysts, the Northern Fleet is the most powerful and combat-ready among the Russian fleets.
“This is due to its geopolitical basing system.
This is an open ocean fleet, it goes to the Arctic Ocean and, in fact, to the Atlantic Ocean.
The Baltic and the Black Sea are closed, a significant part of the bases in the Pacific Ocean are also closed, and there are no restrictions in the North.
Therefore, the Northern Fleet will continue to develop as the largest and most powerful formation of the Russian Navy,” explained Konstantin Strelbitsky.
Arrival of the multi-purpose nuclear submarine K-561 "Kazan" project 885M "Ash-M" to the place of permanent deployment in the Nerpichya Bay in the Murmansk region
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© Pavel Lvov
As the analyst notes, the Northern Fleet has a significant number of combat units of the nuclear deterrence forces.
“Strategic submarines are carriers of nuclear weapons, one of the traditional components of the nuclear triad since the days of the Soviet Union.
In addition, it must be taken into account that nuclear warheads can be installed not only on ship-based missiles, but also on ship-based torpedoes.
Therefore, the Northern Fleet is one of the most significant components of the nuclear deterrence triad,” Strelbitsky emphasized.
According to the expert, the importance of the Northern Fleet is also explained by the large length of the Russian northern borders.
“The Northern Fleet is the guarantor of the security of the Russian Federation on the so-called northern facade, which is the world's largest Arctic border in polar waters and territories beyond the Arctic Circle.
No country has such a large border in the north as the Russian Federation,” Strelbitsky said.
In turn, the editor-in-chief of the National Defense magazine, Igor Korotchenko, in a conversation with RT, noted that the role of the Federation Council in ensuring Russia's security is only increasing due to the current situation in the world.
“The Northern Fleet is the most important strategic formation of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, which has the status of an independent command.
This is the most combat-ready and numerous fleet in the structure of the Russian Navy.
Its importance for ensuring the defense capability of our country is difficult to overestimate.
And this value is only growing now in the light of the upcoming entry of Sweden and Finland into NATO and the strengthening of the northern flank of the alliance,” Korotchenko concluded.