Recently, Russia has been actively restoring civil and military infrastructure that previously existed in the Arctic and is building new military, transport and logistics facilities in the region. A full-fledged army grouping of forces and means is being created in the Arctic, which will reliably cover Russia from this direction, as well as ensure the upholding and protection of national interests in this very important region for the country. The two main resources of the Arctic are rich natural resources and transport communications. According to the forecasts of scientists, perhaps already in the middle of the XXI century in the summer period the Arctic Ocean will be completely free of ice, which will only increase its transport accessibility and significance.
The importance of the Arctic is great; according to forecasts, up to a quarter of all potential oil and gas reserves in the world are located on the Arctic shelf. These two types of fossil fuels are still the most sought after on the planet. The Arctic is estimated to contain 90 billion barrels of oil and 47 trillion cubic meters of natural gas. In addition to fossil fuels, there are deposits of gold, diamonds and nickel. Unexplored hydrocarbon reserves in the potentially Russian water area are currently estimated by scientists at about 9-10 billion tons of fuel equivalent. Hence the desire of all Arctic countries to expand the zones of their continental shelves.
The Russian sector of the Arctic is located today not only in the Arctic Ocean, but also in the Barents and Okhotsk seas. At present, the Arctic already provides about 11% of the national income of the Russian Federation, as well as 22% of the total volume of all-Russian exports. The region produces 90% of Russian nickel and cobalt, 96% of platinoids, 100% of barite and apatite concentrate, and 60% of copper. In addition, the local fishery complex produces about 15% of the total volume of fish products in Russia. Today, it is the Russian Federation that has the largest natural gas reserves on the planet and ranks 8th in the ranking of states in terms of oil reserves. At the same time, Russia is the largest exporter of gas and the second largest exporter of oil in the world. Today our country provides about 30% of all world gas production, and there is more oil under the Russian ice than in the OPEC states combined. That is why the protection of Russia's economic interests in the Arctic region is so important.
The fundamentals of Russia's state policy in the Arctic for the period up to 2020 and beyond were approved back in September 2008 at a meeting of the country's Security Council. The use of the Arctic resources is a guarantee of the energy security of the Russian Federation, at the same time the thesis was outlined that the Arctic should become a resource base for Russia in the 21st century. For this it is vitally important to ensure reliable protection of national interests on the continental shelf.
Today, work in the Russian Arctic is carried out at almost all the main points in the ocean - the archipelagos of Franz Josef Land, Severnaya Zemlya, Novaya Zemlya, on the New Siberian Islands and Wrangel Island, as well as on the mainland - from the Kola Peninsula to Chukotka. In total, as part of the ongoing program to restore Russia's military presence in the Arctic, it is planned to rebuild or reconstruct about 20 groups of objects for various purposes, which will form the skeleton of the military infrastructure in this remote region of the country.
A key feature of the military development that is currently underway in the Arctic is the concentration of command and control of all forces in the region in one hand. Since December 1, 2014, the joint strategic command "North" has been operating in the Russian Federation. We can say that in fact "North" is the fifth Russian military district, which unites under its command all land, sea and air forces in the Russian Arctic, as well as adjacent regions. The joint strategic command "North" was created on the basis of the headquarters and infrastructure of the Northern Fleet of the Russian Navy. This immediately sets a different command format and approaches to solving problems: for the first time in the history of Russia, the basis of strategic command in this region was the headquarters of the fleet, which must solve the tasks of controlling various troops located on a vast territory.
Arctic Shamrock - Russian military base on Alexandra Land island in Franz Josef Land archipelago
This theater of military operations is characterized precisely by great distances. Therefore, the decisive advantage in possible disputes over the region will be possessed by the side that, in a short time, will be able to provide a powerful military presence in important points of the Arctic. For these purposes, the region must have a developed transport and logistics network of naval bases and military airfields capable of receiving aircraft of all types, up to heavy transport aircraft and strategic bombers. That is why a significant part of the RF Armed Forces' exercises in the last 10 years has been devoted to the ability to quickly transfer forces by air and sea. The importance of this aspect cannot be underestimated, since absolutely all plans to recreate the Arctic group of forces in the Arctic and the overwhelming share of Russia's military activity in the region are designed for the widespread use of the transport capabilities of the Air Force and the Navy, without which any effective activity in this region is unthinkable.
First of all, the stake is placed on the reconstruction of the infrastructure, which, if necessary, ensure the transfer of troops by air and sea, and does not require the presence of numerous personnel for protection and daily maintenance. An equally important aspect is the awareness of the leadership of the Arctic group about what is happening. This also determines the direction of today's construction: almost half of the facilities erected in the interests of the Russian armed forces in the Arctic are at radar stations, which, in combination with ships, flying radars and space reconnaissance means, must restore a continuous zone of control over the Russian Arctic.
As Vice Admiral Nikolai Evmenov, Commander of the Russian Northern Fleet, said in early November 2017, the combat capabilities of the forces and assets that are deployed on the Arctic islands will increase, including air defense assets. According to the admiral, a system for monitoring the surface and underwater situation on the routes of the NSR - the Northern Sea Route is being created in the Arctic. Work is underway to create a zone of complete airspace control over the Russian zone of responsibility. Also, according to Nikolai Evmenov, each Arctic island, which has a base of the Northern Fleet, is equipped with all-season airfields that will be able to host aircraft of various types.
New anti-aircraft missile regiment of the Northern Fleet's air defense (Novaya Zemlya archipelago), photo: Russian Ministry of Defense
The air defense capabilities of the Arctic group of forces next year will be strengthened by a new air defense division. It will appear in the Arctic already in 2018, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense. The new connection will be focused on protecting Moscow and the Urals from possible attacks from the North Pole. The air defense regiments deployed here will be focused on detecting and destroying aircraft, cruise missiles and even unmanned aerial vehicles of a potential enemy. Experts note that the new division will become in the future the most important component of the country's air defense system, covering the territory from Novaya Zemlya to Chukotka. The Izvestia newspaper, with reference to the Russian Aerospace Forces, reports that regular activities will begin in 2018, since a fundamental decision on the formation of a new air defense division has already been made. It is reported that the formation will include not only newly formed units, but also units already on alert in the Russian Arctic.
At present, the skies of the Arctic Circle are protected by the soldiers of the 1st Air Defense Division. It reliably covers the Kola Peninsula, the Arkhangelsk Region, the Nenets Autonomous Okrug and the White Sea. This division recently included a regiment stationed in Novaya Zemlya. The 1st Air Defense Division is armed with the most modern types of weapons, including the S-400 Triumph air defense system, the S-300 Favorit and the Pantsir-S1 anti-aircraft missile and cannon systems.
According to military historian Dmitry Boltenkov, a new air defense division being created in the Arctic will take control of the northern direction (from Novaya Zemlya to Chukotka), providing reliable protection for the Central Economic Region of the Russian Federation (including Moscow), as well as the Urals and its industrial centers. At the same time, the already existing 1st Air Defense Division will concentrate mainly on the defense of the Kola Peninsula and the bases of the Northern Fleet located in this area. According to the expert, there is nothing special to cover with anti-aircraft missile regiments from Novaya Zemlya to Chukotka, but it is necessary to create a continuous radar field. In his opinion, the new air defense division will receive a large number of radar stations, which will be located at the newly created Arctic outposts, possibly even on Kotelny Island and Temp airfield.
Tiksi airfield
It is worth noting that 10 military airfields in the Arctic, the construction program of which was launched 3 years ago, are already ready for combat use, according to the Zvezda TV channel. In such a short time, no one has ever carried out such a volume of work in the permafrost and the Far North, the journalists of the TV channel emphasize. Thanks to this, Russia is gradually providing its northern borders with reliable protection from the air, from the sea and from land.
According to the information of the Ministry of Defense of Russia, Spetsstroy of Russia is currently completing work on the reconstruction and construction of 10 airfields located in the Arctic zone, including Severomorsk-1, an airfield on Alexandra Land island (Franz Josef Land archipelago), which in the future will be able to receive and heavy aircraft - Il-78, Tiksi (Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)), Rogachevo (Arkhangelsk region), Temp (Kotelny island). Work is also underway to reconstruct the airfields of Severomorsk-3 (Murmansk Region), Vorkuta (Komi Republic), Naryan-Mar (Arkhangelsk Region), Alykel (Krasnoyarsk Territory) and Anadyr (Chukotka Autonomous Okrug).
The main air force bases are located on Cape Schmidt, Wrangel Island, Kotelny Island, Franz Josef Land archipelago, as well as on the territory of the Murmansk Region. These airfields will be able to provide takeoff and landing of heavy transport aircraft and MiG-31 fighter-interceptors, which are capable of effectively hitting not only enemy aircraft, but also missiles of various classes, up to ballistic ones. It is reported that the Arctic airfields will be all-season and will be able to receive different types of aircraft of the Russian Air Force.
According to an expert in the field of the Air Force, Alexander Drobyshevsky, it is very important for fighter aircraft to develop an airfield network on the ground in order to quickly fly out to intercept the enemy. Even during the Second World War, the practice of "jump airfields" was widely used, when field airfields could be located closer to the front line. In the Russian Arctic, with distances of many thousands, it is also important to be able to fly to intercept the enemy from a closer point. For example, do not waste time on a flight from Novosibirsk, but ascend into the sky directly from the water area of the Arctic Ocean.
Such jump airfields in the Arctic are also very beneficial for strategic aviation. They were used for these purposes in the USSR; the Americans also had their own jump airfields in the Arctic in the 1970s and 90s. It makes no sense for strategic aviation to be based in the North on a permanent basis, however, if necessary, strategic bombers Tu-95 and Tu-160 can be dispersed over all military airfields, including those suitable for them in the Arctic, which at least increases their combat survivability. At the same time, strategic aviation gets the opportunity to completely calmly make combat missions to the United States with the possibility of returning to the northern airfields, since the distance allows it. Airfields under construction in the Arctic will allow the Air Force not only to completely take control of the Arctic sky within the Russian borders, but also to quickly solve any problems in this part of the continent.
