Russia develops military infrastructure in the Arctic
Recently, many countries have shown a growing interest in the Arctic region and its development. Among them, not only adjacent to the Arctic Ocean, but also not having direct access to it. Increased attention to the Arctic is also observed by international organizations such as NATO and the EU.
This is due to the fact that the region contains approximately 25 percent of the world's undiscovered hydrocarbon reserves. The Northern Sea Route is very promising for the development of freight traffic between Europe and Asia. The important military significance of the Arctic lies in the fact that the shortest flight paths of ballistic missiles in any hemisphere of the Earth pass through it. For example, from underwater positions in the northeastern part of the Barents Sea, most priority targets can be hit.
To counter possible threats to Russia's security and build up the country's military potential in the Arctic, which has significantly decreased over the past two decades in comparison with the total capabilities of the United States and NATO, the leadership of the Russian Federation made a decision to restore the military infrastructure in high latitudes.
According to the Deputy Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation Dmitry Bulgakov, by the New Year 437 facilities will be completed and equipped to accommodate the formed military units in the village of Rogachevo (Novaya Zemlya archipelago), on the islands of Alexandra Land (Franz Josef Land), Sredniy (Severnaya Zemlya), Kotelny (Novosibirsk Islands), Wrangel and Cape Schmidt (Chukotka Autonomous District). More than 106 thousand tons of building materials were delivered to these territories during the year by sea and air transport - almost three times more than in 2014. In addition, the logistics services of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation delivered more than 140 thousand tons of various materiel to remote garrisons of the Far North, Siberia and the Far East.
Dmitry Bulgakov noted the active participation of the Ministry of Defense in the 5th International Forum "Arctic: Present and Future", which took place in St. Petersburg on December 7 and 8. Military specialists were involved in all key events, issues of socio-economic development, transport potential, technical support, environmental safety and health were discussed.
According to the Deputy Minister, increasing the role of the region for further economic development and ensuring the security of Russia from a wide range of potential threats necessitates our permanent military presence. However, Russia is not militarizing the Arctic.
The equipping of six Russian military bases in the Arctic is almost complete, a senior source at the General Staff said. We are talking about objects deployed on the islands of Kotelny, Alexandra Land, Sredniy, Wrangel, in the village of Rogachevo and on Cape Schmidt. The infrastructure includes administrative and housing complexes - military camps of a closed cycle, airfields, combat positions of Arctic units and subunits. By the New Year, the bases will host hundreds of Russian servicemen, the source said.
In 2016, the military will continue to build and improve the Arctic infrastructure, as well as to recruit troops in the north with personnel, weapons and equipment.“The strengthening of the groupings in the Arctic zone is planned to be completed by the end of 2016, during 2017 it is planned to complete the construction of the remaining infrastructure facilities and improve the airfield network in order to have self-sufficient mobile groupings of troops in the Arctic by 2018,” the source added. According to him, the entire Russian Federation plans to build 13 airfields and 10 technical radar stations in the region.
In 2015, Russia formed and deployed in the Arctic two separate anti-aircraft missile regiments equipped with S-400 Triumph air defense systems. To cover these systems from air attacks, the Pantsir-S batteries were deployed. In addition, a coastal missile division equipped with Bastion complexes has been deployed on Novaya Zemlya. These units and subunits are on alert around the clock.
In addition, coastal missile, anti-aircraft missile and missile-artillery units and subunits are on alert on other Arctic islands and in some mainland regions of the Russian Arctic. In all locations along the Northern Sea Route - from the Kola Peninsula and Novaya Zemlya in the west to Anadyr and Cape Schmidt in the east - aviation control points, positions of radio engineering, radar and space reconnaissance units are also equipped and equipped. All of them perform combat missions.
Russia has been actively involved in the construction of military infrastructure in the Arctic in recent years. At the end of 2014, the Joint Strategic Command was created on the basis of the Northern Fleet, which also included a number of units and subdivisions of the Western, Central and Eastern military districts. In addition, new formations are being created for the new command, in particular, two motorized rifle brigades.
In the Northern Fleet, a new anti-aircraft missile regiment of the Kola air defense unit took up combat duty to guard the state border. It was formed and permanently deployed on the Novaya Zemlya archipelago. It is armed with modernized S-300 anti-aircraft missile systems, capable of guaranteed hitting enemy air attack weapons within a radius of several hundred kilometers.
The air defense missile system stationed on Novaya Zemlya became the first full-fledged military unit of the Northern Fleet, formed on the islands of the Arctic Ocean. Until that time, only separate units and groups were formed on the Arctic archipelagos.
The Northern Sea Route is open
Icebreakers are constantly needed in the region. And here Russia has the necessary scientific and technical groundwork, which makes it possible to develop the design and construction of ships of various types. The undisputed world leader in this area is the Iceberg Central Design Bureau, which develops several models of nuclear icebreakers.
Alexander Ryzhkov, general director - chief designer of Iceberg Central Design Bureau OJSC, told TASS that the Baltic Shipyard is building three nuclear-powered ships of project 22220 for FSUE Atomflot. These are unique ships with new monoblock reactors, steam turbines, electric propulsion systems, and automation. The icebreaker is capable of changing draft in the range from 8, 5 to 10, 5 meters, which allows it to work both on the routes of the Northern Sea Route and in the mouths of Siberian rivers.
With a maximum draft of 10.5 meters, the icebreaking capacity is 2.8–3 meters, which allows the icebreaker to operate in the eastern region of the Arctic all year round. Thanks to the technical solutions applied in Project 22220, the new nuclear-powered ships are capable of replacing two types of icebreakers at once - naval projects 10521 (Yamal, 50 Let Pobedy) and shallow draft 10580 (Taimyr, Vaygach).
In addition, the Iceberg Central Design Bureau is developing a floating nuclear power unit of project 20870 Akademik Lomonosov, which is planned to be located in the Pevek village of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug as part of a floating nuclear thermal power plant. This project is innovative and has no analogues in the world. A floating nuclear power plant must operate for at least 40 years.
Central Design Bureau "Iceberg" is also building the world's most powerful nuclear icebreaker of project 10510 ("Icebreaker-Leader"). Its capacity is 120 MW, the maximum icebreaking capacity is 4.3 meters, and with an ice thickness of two meters, the icebreaker is capable of navigating transports at a speed of over 11 knots, thereby providing an economically effective speed of movement along the Northern Sea Route routes. Thanks to the "Leader", the NSR can be turned into a permanent highway. Piloting of ships will be provided all year round according to the schedule, regardless of weather and ice conditions. "Leader" will be indispensable for the export of hydrocarbons from the Yamal fields to the countries of the Asia-Pacific region.
In collaboration with the Krylov State Scientific Center (KGNTs), a conceptual design of an icebreaker has already been prepared, tests have been carried out in an experimental basin. It is expected that from 2016 to 2019, the development of a technical project will be carried out, and by 2024 the ship should be delivered to the customer.
The model of the icebreaker "Leader" of project 10510 was presented at the V International Forum "Arctic: Present and Future". According to representatives of the KGNTs, the options for creating an icebreaker in a three-hull design have been worked out, which will ensure reliable pilotage of vessels up to 60 meters wide with increased energy efficiency.
The federal target program "Development of marine civil engineering" for 2009-2016 includes work on a preliminary design and the first stage of testing a model of such a ship. These events have already been carried out by specialists from the Iceberg Central Design Bureau and the Krylov Center. The customer, FSUE Atomflot, was satisfied with the results.
In addition to the "Leader", the KGNTs booth installed models of other developments of the enterprise, including a supply vehicle of project 22420, a drilling vessel of project BS035 and a shallow draft icebreaker of project 22740.
JSC Experimental Design Bureau of Mechanical Engineering named after II Afrikantov ", part of Rosatom, is engaged in a draft design of a new nuclear power plant (NPP) RITM-400, created for a promising icebreaker of high power. It is expected that from the beginning of 2016 the work on the "Leader" will be intensified.
Another sample being developed by the Iceberg Central Design Bureau is a 40 MW offshore multifunctional nuclear icebreaker (project 10570). Here, the concept of creating a vessel was applied - a unified base platform with various configurations with identical solutions for the general layout, hull, power plant, propulsion and steering complex, Dynpos-2 class dynamic positioning system and much more. The proposed concept makes it possible to create icebreakers capable of providing a wide range of operations on the Arctic shelf based on uniform design solutions, which will reduce the cost of design and construction.
On the basis of a single platform, various versions of an icebreaker can be created: multifunctional nuclear icebreaker with a shallow draft; supplier; supplier with towing and anchorage functions; inspection, maintenance and repair of subsea oil and gas production facilities; to stimulate the production of hydrocarbons; to conduct seismic surveys to search for oil and gas fields. The specific configuration of each option can be specified according to the customer's requirements.
There is a backlog of new patrol vessels for the Arctic. In particular, as the chief - chief designer of the central design bureau "Baltsudoproekt" Andrei Obukhov said, a project of a ship has been developed that allows performing all the functions of protecting the resources of the Russian Federation in high-latitude regions. The project has not yet been assigned a number. Several options are under consideration at the RF Ministry of Defense. If an order is received for these ships, their construction may begin in 2017–2018 at the Pela shipyard in the Leningrad Region.
The delivery of goods in the Arctic will be ensured by the nuclear-powered lighter-carrier-container ship "Sevmorput", the design work for the retrofitting of which is currently underway. Serious modernization is being carried out on it, the ship is being revived for various needs, including in the interests of the State Program for the Development of the Arctic, said the head of Baltsudoproekt.
"Sevmorput" can be used to perform various tasks, including in the interests of transport security, since it is an ice-class vessel capable of carrying cargo of any size.
The modernization of the lighter carrier began in December 2013 by order of FSUE Atomflot. The ship is being restored taking into account the high modern requirements for nuclear and environmental safety, using the latest equipment to ensure the construction and modernization of the infrastructure of airfields and ports in various regions of the Far North.
Project 10081 Sevmorput is the only Russian icebreaking transport vessel with a nuclear power plant. Its design and technical documentation was developed by the Central Design Bureau "Baltsudoproekt" in 1978 on a special order from the government of the USSR. The construction was carried out at the Kerch shipyard "Zaliv" named after B. Ye. Butoma. After the ship was put into operation in 1988, it carried out both international and domestic voyages along the NSR. In the 2000s, it was in a long stopover in Murmansk, until in 2013 a decision was made to restore it.
The displacement of the lighter carrier is 61,880 tons, the length is 260 meters, the power of the main turbo-gear unit is 29,420 kW, the full speed is 20.8 knots. The vessel can carry 74 lighters with a carrying capacity of 300 tons or 1328 containers.
Wings of the North
As it was announced during the breakout sessions of the forum "Arctic: Present and Future", a very difficult situation today has developed with the aircraft fleet, which provides flights in the Far North. Nevertheless, Russia plans to use the Il-112 and Il-114 aircraft in the Arctic, the serial construction of which will begin in 2017–2019.
“We are running out of resources for aviation, which is capable of flying in the Arctic. These are old cars of the Antonov family. They should be replaced by new aircraft of the Ilyushin family. First of all, we are counting on the Il-114 and Il-112. Work on their creation has been launched. They will be serialized in 2017–2019,”an informed source in the government said.
Helicopter technology capable of servicing offshore platforms will also be developed. First of all, these are Mi-17s, which have proven their unpretentiousness and unique performance in the Arctic.
In the interests of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, a special balloon with a carrying capacity of 16 tons, adapted to the conditions of the Arctic, will be created, noted Mikhail Talesnikov, commercial director of the Avgur RosAeroSystems company that developed the project. It is argued that the balloon will be able to withstand temperatures up to minus 55 degrees Celsius, winds up to 30 m / s, and develop speeds up to 120-160 km / h. In addition, it has great autonomy, takes off and lands without an airfield, including water and ice surfaces. The balloon can also be used all year round as a living unit and serve, for example, as a hospital, base, etc.
Holding "Augur RosAeroSystems" has developed two modifications of such balloons - A-30 with a carrying capacity of 16 tons and A-100, capable of lifting up to 60 tons of cargo. The first device is expected to be ready for presentation to customers in 2019, the second in 2020.
The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation and, in particular, the Navy are showing interest in the TM-140A Arctic all-terrain vehicle developed by the Kurganmashzavod. The carrying capacity of the machine is four tons, the cabin capacity is seven people, including three berths. The passenger module is designed for eight people or four full berths. As told at Kurganmashzavod, TM-140A can be equipped with various types of tracks, there are options for snow with a rubber expander, and there are for the off-season. The all-terrain vehicle is equipped with a four-stroke diesel engine with a gas turbine supercharging YaMZ-236B-2 with a capacity of 250 liters. with. (184 kW). The range with additional fuel tanks is 800 kilometers. The loaded car remains buoyant and is able to move through the water at a speed of up to 5 km / h.
Currently, the annual production of all-terrain vehicles ranges from 50 to 100 units. There is a modification of the cargo platform with a free layout, which can be adapted to the requirements of the Ministry of Defense. “We are ready to supply the military with an all-terrain vehicle with an integrated module, created according to the customer's requirements for the northern latitudes of Russia,” the Kurganmashzavod representatives emphasized.
The Russian-Belarusian joint venture (JV), which is ready to start working in the Komi Republic, will serially produce a snow and swamp vehicle developed by BelGAZavtoservis. The product is already being produced in Minsk and is in high demand among border guards and employees of the national airport. The development was initiated by specialists with extensive experience in the Far North. “This is the third modification made in Belarus. The swamp vehicle overcomes all obstacles, is able to swim, transport up to 12 armed border guards or a cargo of the corresponding mass. Therefore, I hope that the Russian military will appreciate it at its true worth,”said Andrei Provotorov, deputy general director of BelGAZavtoservice. The snow and swamp-going vehicle for 80 percent consists of components of the Gorky Automobile Plant, the representative of which on the territory of Belarus is BelGAZavtoservis. In particular, the transfer shaft is taken from the all-wheel drive model GAZ-3308 "Sadko", and the cab is taken from the "Gazelle-business". The cylindrical van is covered with fiberglass, the glider gearboxes of our own design are installed. That is, the snow and swamp-going vehicle includes Nizhny Novgorod parts and Belarusian know-how.
A great advantage of the snow and swamp-going vehicle is its well-established service and logistics. Breakage of a part, while the product is extremely reliable, will not be a problem. GAZ is widely represented both in Russia and in Belarus, on the territory of which there are many dealers.
Despite the fact that the snow and swamp-going vehicle is quite expensive, it, according to experts, justifies itself and surpasses all analogues available in Russia in terms of cost-efficiency. GAZ has certified the snow and swamp vehicle in Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus.
The end of the year was marked by the handover to the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation of the first helicopter for Arctic conditions, the Mi-8AMTSh-VA, created at the Ulan-Ude Aviation Plant. A similar civilian version will appear, said Russian Helicopters CEO Alexander Mikheev: “It is necessary both for the constituent entities of the Russian Federation to create transport infrastructure in the northern regions, and for oil and gas companies to support offshore projects.” Apart from the Ministry of Defense, other Russian power structures are also showing interest in this type of helicopter.
The Mi-8AMTSh-VA helicopter was created specifically for operation in the northern regions of the country at temperatures below minus 40 degrees. Its flight range with additional fuel tanks is over 1,300 kilometers. Mi-8AMTSh-VA is equipped with VK-2500-03 engines and reinforced transmission. The increased power capacity of the TA-14 auxiliary power unit provides autonomous power supply for energy-intensive consumer products.
A digital autopilot and several navigation systems, in particular a duplicated satellite, as well as a digital navigation system with a built-in map generator and a strapdown inertial system, which allows determining the current coordinates of the helicopter, allow to increase the piloting efficiency and accuracy of helicopter navigation in areas where there are few landmarks. without satellite signals. The machine is equipped with an air surveillance system to monitor the location of other aircraft in low visibility conditions and a search radio direction finder to search for people and equipment in distress. Mi-8AMTSh-VA is adapted for the use of night vision goggles, has special equipment, including for heating water and food.
