«Сухой» и лед: на аэродромах арктических островов разместят Су-34
Fighter-bombers will help ensure control over the Northern Sea Route
May 19, 2021 00:01
Anton Lavrov, Anna Cherepanova, Roman Krezul
The Ministry of Defense will deploy a squadron of Su-34 fighter-bombers at the airfields of the Franz Josef Land and the New Siberian Islands. For their permanent deployment, a special infrastructure is already being built there. Multipurpose combat vehicles will be able to conduct patrols, reconnaissance and strike with precision weapons. This will strengthen the defense capability of Russia in the Arctic latitudes, including along the route of the Northern Sea Route (NSR), experts say.
At extremely low temperatures
At the Nagurskaya and Temp airfields, they are creating all the necessary infrastructure for basing the Su-34, including closed warm hangars for their placement and maintenance, sources in the Ministry of Defense told Izvestia. There are also open parking spaces for Il-78 tanker aircraft and Il-76 military transport aircraft. In the near future, it is planned to conduct additional research exercises of operational-tactical aviation to work from these air bases.
Major General Igor Churkin, Chief of Staff of the 45th Air Force and Air Defense Army, said that improving the airfield network in the Arctic significantly increases the possibilities of using the Northern Fleet's aviation. It will be able to control the airspace in the water area of the NSR and will ensure the safety of this transport artery from the air.
Earlier, Izvestia reported that this spring the Su-34s have successfully completed a full cycle of tests in the Arctic. The aircraft of the air regiment from Shagol, temporarily relocated to Murmansk, tested in practice the possibilities of hitting ground, sea and air targets at extremely low temperatures. Their onboard equipment has also been tested.
“Multifunctional Su-34 are universal aircraft,” military expert Dmitry Boltenkov told Izvestia. - They are capable of attacking with high-precision weapons not only land, but also naval targets. And operating from the airfields of Nagurskaya and Temp, they can work over fairly long distances, conduct reconnaissance and patrolling, and control the Arctic space. They also have in their arsenal modern medium-range air-to-air missiles and good radar. Most likely, air groups will be deployed on the islands, which will include four aircraft. Deploying an entire squadron on a permanent basis in such extreme conditions is much more difficult.
Russia historically considers the northern part of the Arctic to be a zone of its strategic influence, therefore, it is now building up its forces there in order to protect its economic interests, the expert recalled.
Island airbases
In total, according to the project for the restoration and development of the military Arctic infrastructure, 13 airfields and runways (runways) in the insular and mainland parts of northern Russia have been repaired and rebuilt.
On the island of Alexandra Land in the Franz Josef Land archipelago, the first concrete runway built from scratch began operation last May. The development of the Nagurskaya airfield, serving the Arctic Trefoil airbase, continues. In the near future, the length of the runway will be increased to 3.5 km, which will make it possible to receive any type of aircraft, including heavy transport aircraft and strategic bombers.
Il-76 with paratroopers and MiG-31 have already landed on the island of Alexandra Land. In March, one of the interceptors flew for the first time from the Nagurskaya airfield to the North Pole, completed combat training missions there and successfully returned back with two air refueling.
An aerodrome of a similar potential is being built on Kotelny Island of the Novosibirsk Islands archipelago near the North Clover base. The planes returned there in 2013, after a 30-year absence. Now the unpaved runway is being converted into a concrete one.
Air presence
In December 2020, the Ministry of Defense announced the beginning of a permanent duty of fighters at the renovated Rogachevo airfield on the Novaya Zemlya archipelago. MiG-31BM and deck-mounted Su-33s are sent there on the principles of rotation.
At the end of last year, MiG-31BM interceptors were also deployed in Anadyr on the Chukchi Peninsula. Fighters from there have already been used several times to escort American reconnaissance aircraft approaching the Russian border.
- Aircraft in the Arctic perform a double task. The Northern Sea Route and the United States are nearby, ”ex-UN Deputy Secretary General Sergei Ordzhonikidze explained to Izvestia. - Russian forces are deploying closer to the territory of a potential enemy. Recently, we have seen an aggravation of the struggle for the NSR, attempts by the United States to question our rights in this region. Of course, this necessitates a strengthened military presence in it.
During the Soviet era, no one challenged the country's Northern Sea Route, the diplomat noted.
- Nobody went there, and we did not use it very actively. Although no one could compete with us in terms of the number of icebreakers, as, incidentally, they cannot now, - said Sergei Ordzhonikidze. - And today the North is a sensitive point both for the United States and for us. The region is of great importance not only from a military point of view, but also from an economic one. There are huge reserves of hydrocarbons and other resources. And any diplomatic and political dispute, if it is not supported by forceful arguments, will always not be in your favor.
The Northern Sea Route is a strategically important transport artery with a length of almost 5.5 thousand km. This corridor is the shortest route between Europe and East Asia. Its main part is located in the territorial waters of the Russian Federation, as well as in the zone of Russian economic interests. It transports oil, gas and timber produced in the North, as well as foreign cargoes. The duration of navigation there was already more than nine months last year. As the climate warms, the interval will increase, and in the future, navigation there may become year-round.
No comments:
Post a Comment