Another surprise check of the armed forces took place last week. On March 16, Russian Supreme Commander-in-Chief President Vladimir Putin ordered to alert the Northern Fleet, as well as some parts of the Western Military District and the airborne troops. Until March 21, the units involved in the check demonstrated their skills and performed the assigned combat training missions.
On the morning of March 16, the military received an order from the president to begin a new surprise check, which was soon announced by Defense Minister General of the Army Sergei Shoigu. According to the head of the military department, 38 thousand soldiers and officers, about 3360 units of military equipment, 41 ships, 15 submarines, as well as 110 units of aviation equipment should have taken part in the inspection of the Northern Fleet, the troops of the Western Military District and the Airborne Forces. The Minister of Defense also said that during the first day of the inspection, it is planned to establish whether the troops fit into the established time standards for bringing them to full combat readiness. After that, the troops were to go to the indicated training grounds to perform the assigned combat training missions.
During the first stage of the maneuvers, the units involved were to raise the alarm and go to the designated areas for conducting control exercises and tactical exercises, including using standard weapons. In accordance with the test scenario, the troops were to go to a number of test sites, including those located on Novaya Zemlya and Franz Josef Land. The protection of the northern borders of the country became one of the main topics of the surprise check of the troops.
In the afternoon of March 16, the press service of the Ministry of Defense announced that for the first time a separate Arctic motorized rifle brigade based in the city of Alakurtti (Murmansk region) will take part in the current surprise check of combat readiness. This unit was supposed to participate in the check together with other units and units deployed on the Kola Peninsula.
On the night of March 17, it was announced the start of a new training event, which will involve the command of the armed forces and some formations. On Tuesday, a strategic command and staff exercise began with the central command and control of the armed forces. In accordance with the order of the Ministry of Defense, this training was to be carried out taking into account the real actions of the Northern Fleet formations. The purpose of the command and staff training was to test the work and interaction of various command and control bodies of the armed forces, including in the management of troops involved in a surprise check.
Also on Tuesday, the press service of the military department spoke about participation in the inspection of the naval aviation of the Northern Fleet. After receiving the order from the airfields of the Kola Peninsula, anti-submarine aircraft on duty took off. In addition, preparations began for other aircraft and helicopters to carry out the assigned combat training missions. During the check, the Il-38 anti-submarine aircraft were supposed to carry out reconnaissance in certain waters of the Barents Sea, and the task of the military transport aviation was to support the tactical groups of the Northern Fleet located on various islands of the Arctic Ocean and its seas.
By the morning of March 17, the Ivanovo airborne force was prepared for dispatch to the exercise site. On Tuesday morning, the press service of the Ministry of Defense reported that the forward units of this formation began loading personnel, equipment and equipment onto military transport aircraft. Mobile control posts and communication centers were deployed near the airfields at which the loading was carried out. During the preparation for the transfer to the training grounds, the servicemen received all-season uniforms and equipment designed to work in various climatic conditions. In addition, the soldiers received the necessary set of medicines and food.
In the evening of the same day, the 98th Guards Airborne Division arrived at the airfield near Olenegorsk (Murmansk region), from where it went to the training grounds of the Kola Peninsula, which were selected by the command as sites for maneuvers. It was noted that the soldiers of the 98th Guards Division already have experience of working in the northern latitudes. During previous exercises, they landed on Kotelny Island (Novosibirsk Islands), and also landed in other regions of the Arctic.
On the same day, there were reports of the upcoming combat training work of the air force. On March 17, the redeployment of aviation formations began to the airfields from which they were to work in the course of a surprise check. According to the Ministry of Defense, during the day it was planned to transfer about 50 aircraft and helicopters to various airfields. To do this, they had to overcome from 400 to 4000 km. By the time the planes and helicopters took off, teams of specialists arrived at the destination airfields to prepare them for receiving aviation. It was reported that MiG-31, Su-27, Su-24M, An-12, An-26 aircraft, as well as Mi-8AMTSh, Mi-24 helicopters, etc. should go to alternate airfields.
In addition, on Tuesday, the army aviation formations of the Western Military District were raised on alert. In a few hours, the pilots flew flights up to 1000 km long and arrived at new airfields, after which they became subordinate to the Sever United Strategic Command.
On the morning of March 17, it was announced that the Northern Fleet marines had made a march to the Northern Fleet ports and began loading onto the landing ships. In the message of the Ministry of Defense, it was noted that a separate marine brigade engaged in the check, during the march to the place of loading, completed some combat training tasks. During the march, the servicemen trained to carry out combat protection of the columns, reflect the attacks of sabotage and reconnaissance groups of the imaginary enemy, and also organize air defense on the march. New orders for the marines were to be received after going to sea on landing ships.
On Tuesday, there was another interesting piece of news about plans for the transfer of troops and equipment. RIA Novosti, citing a source in the Ministry of Defense, reported that as part of the current surprise check, several long-range Tu-22M3 bombers should fly to one of the Crimean airfields. Nevertheless, the main task of the maneuvers was to check the actions of the troops in the northern regions of the country and the Arctic.
Also, with reference to its sources in the military department, RIA Novosti reported on the strengthening of the grouping of troops in the Kaliningrad region. It was planned to transfer fighter and bomber aviation there. In addition, the landing ships of the Baltic Fleet were supposed to deliver Iskander missile systems to the Russian semi-exclave. During the day, about 10 Su-34 bombers and Su-27 fighters flew near Kaliningrad. The crews of attack aircraft were to carry out bombing at targets at an unfamiliar training ground in the Kaliningrad region.
In the afternoon of March 17, Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov said that Russia had notified the OSCE countries of the beginning of the maneuvers. At the same time, it was noted that the Russian side notified its foreign partners on a voluntary basis, since the number of troops involved in the check allows not to inform about the beginning of the exercises in advance. The ongoing surprise check on the number of personnel and weapons is not subject to the Vienna Convention of 2011, but Russia, in good faith, notified foreign countries.
On the morning of March 18, the Black Sea Fleet marines joined the surprise check, namely the command and staff training on command and control of the armed forces. One of the formations, stationed in Temryuk (Krasnodar Territory), received an order to enter the Kerch Strait region, equip fortifications, and prepare weapons and equipment for firing practice. During the march, about 60 km long, the marines had to work out counteraction to saboteurs and the air of a conditional enemy.
On the same day, a similar order was received by motorized riflemen serving on Sakhalin, also involved in the command and staff training. The task of the motorized riflemen was to reach one of the sections of the coast of the island and organize an antiamphibious defense with further counteraction to the landing of a mock enemy.
By the middle of Wednesday, the subdivisions of signalmen, after many kilometers of marches, deployed more than two dozen mobile command and control posts. The task of the signalmen was to organize all the necessary communications between the units and the command. Among other things, it was planned to deploy satellite communications, as well as videoconferences with the participation of commanders at different levels.
Already on March 18, the Ministry of Defense announced the first stages of checking the combat readiness of the Northern Fleet formations. An inspection of the submarine base at Hajiyevo was carried out. The progress of the inspection was personally supervised by the Chief of the General Staff, General of the Army Valery Gerasimov. The Chief of the General Staff visited one of the strategic submarines of Project 677BDRM, where he followed the training of the crew. During the check, the submarine crews confirmed their readiness to carry out the assigned combat missions.
On Wednesday, several formations of the airborne troops began to fulfill the assigned tasks, as told by the commander of the Airborne Forces, Colonel-General Vladimir Shamanov. By the end of the previous day, the 76th Airborne Assault Division was transferred to operational subordination to the troops of the Western Military District, the 7th Division - to the troops of the Southern. The 11th and 83rd Airborne Assault Brigades were transferred to the command of the Eastern Military District. In addition, taking into account the revised plans, the regrouping of the 98th Airborne Division and the 45th Special Forces Brigade began. The 31st separate airborne assault brigade has completed preparations for operations in the Central Asian strategic direction.
In parallel with the transfer of troops, all command and control centers of troops and fleets participating in the surprise check of combat readiness began a regular exchange of information on the movement and actions of various formations. According to Mikhail Mizintsev, head of the National Defense Control Center, the main parameters of the troops are checked at least four times a day. As of March 18, no significant deviations in the implementation of plans were noticed.
Already on the night of Thursday, March 19, there were reports of regular events within the framework of a strategic command and staff training in command and control of the armed forces. According to the Ministry of Defense, units of the Pskov Airborne Forces have landed on the Strugi Krasnye training ground in the Pskov region. Military transport aircraft delivered over 700 soldiers and 10 units of military equipment to the place of maneuvers. The landed parachute assault began to perform combat missions in the rear of the simulated enemy.
An additional task for the Pskov paratroopers was to counter the reconnaissance unmanned aerial vehicles of the imaginary enemy. In addition, the paratroopers in the course of firing practice successfully destroyed targets that imitated various weapons and equipment of the enemy.
As part of the command and staff training, the ships of the Black Sea Fleet went to sea, and anti-submarine aviation took off. The ships, planes and helicopters of the Black Sea Fleet were to search for submarines of the imaginary enemy. The patrol boat Pytlivy, small anti-submarine ships Aleksandrovets and Suzdalets, minesweepers Valentin Pikul, Ivan Golubets, Kovrovets and Mineralnye Vody, as well as about ten airplanes and helicopters of naval aviation took part in these maneuvers.
On the night of March 18-19, training flights were performed by fighters and bombers of the Baltic Fleet aviation. As part of the strategic command and staff training, the Su-27 and Su-24M planes worked out a number of elements of combat work, including air combat and forcing the intruder to land. In addition, training bombing was scheduled for Thursday.
On Thursday, a joint exercise of long-range aviation and air defense units deployed on the Kola Peninsula took place. A detachment of Tu-95MS bombers from the Engels airbase flew towards the zone of responsibility of the Kola air defense unit, where it assumed the role of a control target, flying at different altitudes, speeds and directions.
During training flights, Tu-95MS bombers interacted with Su-27 fighters. In particular, fighters approached the minimum distance to bombers and thereby concealed the true number of aircraft in the air from a conventional enemy represented by air defense units. After such a training, several pairs of Su-27s performed a training interception of a target at distant lines.
During the sudden check of the combat readiness of the Northern Fleet, the Western Military District and the Airborne Forces, as well as the strategic command and staff training, the number of personnel and equipment involved in the maneuvers was increased. On March 19, Chief of the General Staff V. Gerasimov said that by this time the total number of soldiers and officers taking part in the maneuvers had increased to 80 thousand people. The number of involved aviation equipment has been increased to 220 units.
On Thursday, a bilateral tactical exercise of the Northern Fleet started in the Barents Sea. More than three dozen surface ships and vessels from the Northern Fleet took part in these naval maneuvers, including the destroyer Admiral Ushakov, the large anti-submarine ship Admiral Levchenko, the small missile ship Iceberg, the large landing ship Kondopoga, etc..d. During the exercise, the ships worked out joint maneuvering, the formation of tactical groups, as well as the organization of defense against submarines and aircraft of the imaginary enemy. In addition, the ships carried out live firing.
By interacting with the Il-38 and Tu-142 anti-submarine aircraft, the ships of the Northern Fleet successfully detected a mock enemy, the role of which was played by Russian submarines. After the detection of the conditional target, the naval group led by the ship "Admiral Levchenko" conducted firing practice using torpedoes and rocket launchers.
At the Mulino training ground in the Nizhny Novgorod region, exercises of tank units were held with the participation of 1,500 servicemen and 500 pieces of equipment. The tank battalion entered the battle with the conditional enemy, however, due to its numerical superiority, it was forced to withdraw to previously prepared positions. With the help of such a retreat, the conditional enemy was lured into a tank ambush, where he was seriously damaged.
On the same day, the crews of the army aviation from the Tolmachevo base performed tasks at unfamiliar training grounds in the Altai region as part of a command and staff training. More than 10 Mi-24 and Mi-8AMTSh helicopters, raised on alert, carried out an attack on the enemy forces, and then carried out aerial mining of several directions of possible advancement of his forces. The combat training work of the helicopters began with the suppression of the anti-aircraft weapons of the conditional enemy with the help of cannons, machine guns and unguided rockets. Then the Mi-8AMTSh helicopters, covered by the Mi-24, set about 300 antipersonnel and anti-tank mines. Due to the large amount of snow lying on the landfill, the mines were instantly disguised.
On the night of March 20, the coastal forces of the Baltic Fleet continued to carry out their assigned tasks. At several training ranges in the Kaliningrad region, various formations of coastal forces practiced interaction in a combat situation, defense, offensive and other aspects of combat operations. Some of the maneuvers were carried out at night, for which flares were used, as well as night vision equipment.
Air force exercises continued on Friday 20 March. On that day, about fifty aircraft of various types took off from the Severomorsk-3 airbase in the Murmansk region. In accordance with the test scenario, the fighters were supposed to intercept training targets, and the task of the bombers and attack aircraft was to strike at the targets of the simulated enemy. Most of these flights took place over the Barents Sea. In addition, some combat training missions were carried out at land training grounds. There, Su-24M bombers carried out an attack on ground targets, and Mi-8 helicopters landed tactical troops.
On March 20, maneuvers continued at the Strugi Krasnye training ground in the Pskov region. On this day, about 200 servicemen and about 100 units of various equipment gathered there. For Friday, training sessions were scheduled from all types of small arms and artillery weapons. In addition, in this episode of the maneuvers, the participation of army aviation was envisaged, which was also supposed to fire at training targets.
On Friday, in Severomorsk, the 98th Airborne Division repulsed a mock enemy attack on the headquarters of the Northern Fleet. Subdivisions of the division arrived from Olenegorsk to Severomorsk, where they strengthened the protection of the headquarters and other facilities of the Northern Fleet. According to the legend of the maneuvers, the saboteurs of the imaginary enemy made an attempt to penetrate the territory of the main base of the Northern Fleet and seize strategically important objects. The paratroopers successfully repelled the attack of the conditional enemy from four directions, and then blocked and destroyed him.
In the afternoon of March 21, a sudden check of the combat readiness of the Northern Fleet, the troops of the Western Military District and the Airborne Forces ended. All units involved were ordered to return to their permanent deployment points. On the same day, a briefing was held at the National Center for Defense Management, at which the leadership of the Ministry of Defense announced the preliminary results of the audit. The head of the Main Operations Directorate of the General Staff, Lieutenant General Andrei Kartapolov, said that the check showed the high readiness of the Northern Fleet to fulfill the assigned tasks and protect the country's interests in the Arctic. At the same time, the formations of several military districts showed their training and ability to perform tasks.
Already on March 23, it became known that the weapons and equipment of the Northern Fleet, used during the recent inspection, will undergo additional maintenance in the near future. On Monday, Park Week began at the Northern Fleet, during which it is planned to carry out additional maintenance of the material part, which was actively used a few days earlier.
On March 24, Defense Minister S. Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff V. Gerasimov reported to President V. Putin on the results of the check. The head of the military department noted that during the previous inspections, carried out in 2013 and 2014, certain conclusions were drawn, as well as some shortcomings that hindered the fulfillment of tasks were corrected. In addition, S. Shoigu said that the proposals made by the president in the spring of last year and related to some of the specifics of command and control of troops have justified themselves.
According to the latest data, at the final stages, more than 80 thousand military personnel, 12 thousand ground equipment, 80 ships, ships and submarines, as well as over 220 aircraft and helicopters, took part in the check. All troops involved received orders from the newly established National Defense Command and similar structures at the military district level. The updated structure of the command and control system of the armed forces has shown itself to be on the good side. In addition, the troops involved in the maneuvers have shown their real capabilities to carry out certain combat training missions. The idea of carrying out surprise checks of combat readiness once again justified itself. Similar events will be held in the future.
