Russia is fast becoming a dominant Military power in the Arctic

[Hindustani78]

TASS: Russia - Russian airborne troops land in two Arctic areas within combat readiness snap check
March 18, 16:39 UTC+3
The paratroopers’ mission is to reinforce the guarding of strategic facilities and ensure safe landing of the main forces

MOSCOW, March 18. /TASS/. Reconnaissance units of the Ivanovo grouping of Airborne Forces during a snap combat readiness check have made air landing in two Arctic areas, Russian Defense Ministry’s press service said on Wednesday.

"Today, reconnaissance units of the Ivanovo grouping of the Airborne Forces for the first time made air landing in the areas of the Novaya Zemlya and Franz Joseph Land archipelagos," the press service said.

The landing took place within the framework of a snap check of combat readiness of Russia’s Northern Fleet and separate formations of the Western Military District and Airborne units.

According to the ministry, the paratroopers’ mission is to reinforce the guarding of strategic facilities and ensure safe landing of the main forces. More than 10 Ilyushin Il-76 planes are involved in the troops’ movement. The operational group of the Airborne Forces Command, headed by Airborne Deputy Chief of Staff Major General Alexander Shumkin has arrived at the exercise area.

The snap check of combat readiness of Russia’s Northern Fleet forces and a number of groupings of the Airborne Forces and the Western Military District was launched on Monday, March 16. The exercises involve 38,000 troops, more than 55 warships and submarines, 110 warplanes and helicopters. The exercise is aimed at assessing the capabilities of the Northern Fleet to ensure Russia’s military security in the Arctic.

******************

On March 17 large units of airborne forces started redeployment to a predetermined area as part of surprise combat readiness check for Russia’s Northern Fleet and separate formations of the Western military district. Military exercises involve 38,000 personnel, 3,360 pieces of combat hardware, 41 battle ships, 15 submarines and 110 aircraft and helicopters. Russian Airborne Force units on combat alert - in photo gallery by TASS

In accordance with the snap check plan for Russia’s Northern Fleet and separate formations of the Western military district Russia’s Air Force began redeployment of aircraft to alternate airfields

Military personnel prepare fighting vehicles BMD-2 for landing operation
© TASS/Vladimir Smirnov

Russian airborne forces servicemen inside the military transport aircraft Il-76
© TASS/Vladimir Smirnov

On March 17 large units of airborne forces started redeployment to a predetermined area
© TASS/Vladimir Smirnov

Commanders specifying the area of units' gathering after landing
© TASS/Vladimir Smirnov

 

[Hindustani78]

Russian airborne forces loading equipment
© TASS/Vladimir Smirnov

Russian airborne troops participating in military exercise
© TASS/Vladimir Smirnov

Russian airborne troops participating in military exercise
© TASS/Vladimir Smirnov

 

[Hindustani78]

TASS: Russia - Arctic snap check involves 80,000 servicemen — Russia's General Staff
March 19, 12:17 UTC+3
According to the official, 220 aircraft are taking part in the drills

MOSCOW, March 19. /TASS/. The number of Russian servicemen taking part in the snap checks of the combat readiness in the Arctic has reached 80,000, the chief of the Russian General Staff said on Thursday.

Valery Gerasimov also said 220 aircraft are taking part in the drills.

"Additional air forces have been involved in the maneuvers," he said adding that military units involved in the drills had started fulfilling their tasks at sea and at the training grounds.

Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu on Wednesday said Russia’s sudden military inspection of the Northern Fleet’s combat readiness, which started on March 16, enables the newly established Arctic unified strategic command to practise control of forces for the first time.

According to Shoigu, the sudden combat readiness inspection "is of particular significance since it enables the new unified strategic command to practise coordinated control over all forces for the first time."

The Unified Strategic Command ‘Sever’ (North) was formed with the aim of protecting the country’s interests in the Arctic and started to operate in late 2014.

"Moreover, armaments and military hardware the Northern Fleet has recently received will undergo testing," Shoigu said.

 

[Hindustani78]

Former military brass express Russia concerns - The Local
Published: 03 Apr 2015 11:02 GMT+02:00

Russian ships docked at what was once a secret Norwegian naval base in the Arctic have prompted concern from the NATO country's former top military leaders, anxious about its resurgent eastern neighbour roaming nearby.


Norway's jagged Arctic coastline has regained its strategic importance since tensions between Russia and NATO members have spiked to levels not seen since the fall of the Soviet Union.

The rocky relations have led some to criticise the shutting down of Olavsvern Naval Base, a massive complex burrowed into a mountain near the northern town of Tromsø that has been closed since 2009.

Shuttering it was driven by the then seemingly reduced threat from Moscow and its massive Northern Fleet based on Russia's nearby Kola Peninsula.

"We sold the only base worthy of the name that we had up there. It's pure madness," former vice admiral Einar Skorgen, who commanded Norway's northern forces, told AFP.

Skorgen and other critics say Norway has robbed itself of a crucial foothold in the far north, forcing its submarines to travel hundreds of extra miles from their bases to defend the region.

On top of that, three Russian ships have spent the winter docked deep within the mountain hideaway, once a closely guarded military facility.

"We are the only country along with Russia to have a permanent presence in the Barents Sea, where we share a common border. Obviously our navy should be stationed there, including our submarines," Skorgen said.

"If the ships aren't there where they are needed, they might as well be scrapped altogether."

The way the base changed hands and ended up being rented to Russian research vessels -- some of them seismic survey ships reportedly linked to state-owned energy giant Gazprom -- has added further fuel to their anger.

When no buyers answered the armed forces' initial advert on Norway's version of eBay, a Norwegian businessman clinched the deal in 2013 for a mere 40 million kroner ($5 million) -- a steal given that NATO ploughed nearly 4 billion kroner into its construction.

"There are no longer any secrets surrounding this base," said its new landlord Gunnar Wilhelmsen.

"Not since the military and NATO agreed to put it on sale over the Internet, along with photographs of every nook and cranny."

Historic 'blunder'

Nonetheless, the potential for Russian military activity aboard research vessels has many military experts worried, particularly former top-ranking officers who are more prone to speaking their mind.

"Russia is a country where the state has a say over all commercial or semi-state business. It's clear, very few people know what happens on these vessels," said retired vice admiral Jan Reksten, formerly second in command of the Norwegian military.

He said the sale of Olavsvern was "a double loss" as "Norway's armed forces lost an important base and now there are Russian vessels docked there."

In an ironic twist to the tale, the decision to close the base was taken by the leftist government of Jens Stoltenberg, who has gone on to become NATO's current secretary general and who has warned countries not to lower their guard when it comes to Russia.

Kjell-Ola Kleiven, a blogger writing on security issues in Norway, calls the affair the "biggest blunder in recent history" in an oil-rich country that boasts the world's largest sovereign wealth fund.

"With 7,000 billion kroner in the bank," he wrote, "you would have thought that the Norwegian nation had the means and savvy to retain ownership of Olavsvern."

Despite the protests, Norway's current right-wing government has shown no signs of reversing the decision made by its predecessors.

"There are no plans to re-establish military installations in Olavsvern," Audun Halvorsen, political advisor to the defence minister, told AFP in an email.

"The owner of the site can use it as he sees fit and the armed forces do not have the authority to impose restrictions, nor any mandate to monitor civilian ships that dock there," he added.

"Any suspected irregular activity is a matter for the police and legal authorities."

 

[Hindustani78]

TASS: Russia - Russian paratroopers, post-Soviet security bloc forces to drill landing on Arctic ice floe
Russian paratroopers, post-Soviet security bloc forces to drill landing on Arctic ice floe
Russia
April 06, 16:25 UTC+3
The paratroopers will participate in a training humanitarian search and rescue expedition to the Arctic Pole

MOSCOW, April 6. /TASS/. Paratroopers from Russia’s Ivanovo and Pskov airborne divisions and rapid reaction forces from the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) member states are preparing for landing on a drifting Arctic ice floe, Russian Airborne Force spokesman Yevgeny Meshkov said on Monday.

"Russian paratroopers are preparing jointly with the rapid reaction force contingents at the Olenya airfield in the Murmansk Region for landing on an ice floe drifting in the Arctic Ocean to participate in a training humanitarian search and rescue expedition to the Arctic Pole," the spokesman said.

Food, materials, fuels and lubricants are also planned to be dropped to the ice floe by parachutes to make provisions for the expedition, he added.

Airborne forces will use Arbalet-2 special parachute systems during the landing, the spokesman said.

"After the landing, the servicemen will practise searching for, providing assistance to and transporting people who may suffer in expeditions, aircraft and ship accidents in extreme conditions of the Arctic Pole," the spokesman said.

During the exercise, the troops will also gain skills in setting up a camp, deploying communications means and practice the methods of moving across snow-covered drifting ice floes amid abnormally low temperatures, the spokesman said.

 

[SuperSubrayan]

Someone was bragging about over taking Russian and the American . Now you know the real power of super powers. India and China can never match these two beast .

And this is how big boys roll

 

[Hindustani78]

Russia to Deploy Armata Tanks, APCs, Air-Defense Missiles in Arctic / Sputnik International

26.05.2015

Tanks and armored vehicles, based on the Armata and Bumerang combat platforms, air defense missile batteries and other military hardware will soon be deployed in Russia’s Arctic regions, the Southern Military District’s press service announced on Tuesday.

“Commanding officers of the Defense Ministry’s Transport Service will be meeting in Moscow on Tuesday to discuss the transport on railway platforms of Pantsir air defense missile complexes, Armata tanks, armored vehicles and other weapons systems to military units deployed in the country’s Arctic regions,” the statement said.

In all, nearly 70 officers from the Southern, Western, Central and Eastern Military Districts, as well as the Northern Fleet, will be taking part in the meeting.

The T-14 Armata next generation main battle tank was showcased during the May 9 Victory Day parade in Moscow, along with all-new armored vehicles, built around the Bumerang combat platform.

Apart from its advanced armored tracked platform, which combines all the last decade’s major developments and innovations in battle vehicle design and construction, the Armata tank features a multi-layer armored capsule, separated from the ammunition container, the crew is securely enclosed in.

The vehicle is fully computerized and only needs three servicemen to operate it.

The new Boomerang unified wheeled platform will serve as the basis for a whole new family of combat and auxiliary armored vehicles.

Pantsir S-1 is a combined short to medium range surface-to-air missile and anti-aircraft artillery system using phased-array radars for both target acquisition and tracking.

It was designed to provide air defense of military, industrial and administrative installations against aircraft, helicopters, precision munitions, cruise missiles and drones and to provide additional protection to air defense units from enemy air attacks employing precision munitions especially at low and extremely low ranges.

 

[Hindustani78]

11:34
Russian Helicopters deliver two Arctic Mi-8AMTSh-VA helicopters to Defense Ministry ahead of schedule

https://sputniknews.com/military/201707051055234263-russian-submarine-cruise-missile-launch/

Russia's Project 949A submarine Smolensk of the Oscar-II class has successfully launched a Granit cruise missile and hit a naval target in the Barents Sea as part of the combat readiness drills, according to Northern Fleet’s spokesman Capt. 1st Rank Vadim Serga.


MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Russia's Project 949A submarine Smolensk of the Oscar-II class has successfully launched a Granit cruise missile and hit a naval target in the Barents Sea as part of the combat readiness drills, Northern Fleet’s spokesman Capt. 1st Rank Vadim Serga said Wednesday.

"The firing of the Granit cruise missile was carried out from an underwater position to a complex sea target, located at a distance of about 400 kilometers [215 nautical miles]. According to the flight recorder’s data, the target was hit successfully,” Serga said.

A total of 13 Oscar-class submarines have been built for the Russian navy between 1975 and 1996. They are among the world's largest submarines in terms of displacement and length. They have been succeeded by the Yasen-class nuclear submarines, most of which are currently under construction.

 

[Hindustani78]

Two Russian strategic bombers carried out planned flights over the neutral waters of the Arctic Ocean.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Russia’s Tu-95MS Bear strategic bombers carried out planned flights over neutral waters of the Arctic Ocean, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Thursday.

"Two strategic Tu-95MS bombers of the Aerospace Forces performed scheduled flights over neutral waters of the Arctic Ocean," a statement released by the ministry said.

The ministry added that the bombers twice performed in-flight refueling during the mission.

According to the ministry, Russian long-range aircraft perform flights over neutral waters of the Atlantic, Arctic, Pacific Ocean and the Black Sea on a regular basis in accordance with an approved plan.

All flights are carried out in strict accordance with international regulations on the use of airspace over neutral waters and without violating borders of other states, the ministry stressed.

 

[Pax Ottomana]

The frggin place is FRIGID!!! It's mind boggling how these arctic-claiming nations even keep their vehicles and equipment there running at negative 60 degrees, let alone staying in battle-ready condition. Bravo!

 

[Hindustani78]

New Delhi, June 02, 2018 22:09 IST
Updated: June 02, 2018 22:09 IST
http://www.thehindu.com/news/nation...ice-free-finnish-official/article24069146.ece

A 2008 file photo of Baffin Bay, near the Arctic Circle. | Photo Credit: Jonathan Hayward


Contrary to popular belief that the melting ice in the Arctic would open up alternate shipping routes, a senior Finnish official said it would still not be an easily navigable route. He also called for a greater Indian role in the region as an observer in the Arctic Council.

“Even if the Arctic becomes ice free, the Northern sea route will not be an easily navigable route anytime soon. It will not be practical for container traffic, it may be ok for bulk carriers carrying gas. But it is containers which constitute the major traffic,” Rene Soderman, Senior Arctic Official in the Finland ministry for foreign affairs told The Hindu. Finland is holding the Chairmanship of the Arctic Council from 2017-19.

He explained that despite no ice, the waters would be tough to navigate due to sub-zero temperatures and would pose serious challenges to ships effecting their movement and schedules which carries a premium in container traffic.

Arctic region which has permanently frozen ice is melting at an increasing rate due to global warming and is expected to be ice free by 2060.

Already several countries have sent their ships and ice breakers in the summer months to demonstrate the navigability and countries like China and Japan are investing in infrastructure development. It is seen as an alternate shipping route to cut time and costs and also circumvent the global choke points.

India’s role

Mr. Soderman who held discussions with several officials in the Government welcomed greater Indian role especially in renewing commitment to climate change and environmental protection.

There is increasing concern in India as China makes inroads in the strategically important Arctic region which has large amount untapped minerals and fossil fuels.

Arctic Council is currently formulating a long term strategy for action looking into the 2030’s based on its founding charter. “This is the first time the council is trying to see what it can do in the long term. Hopefully the strategy will be adopted by the ministerial council in May next year,” Mr. Soderman said.

Arctic council which is an intergovernmental organisation has eight member states, six independent permanent participating organisations and observers which are non-Arctic states like India and China.

 

[jamal18]

Er...China is a bit far from the Arctic...

 

[Tshering22]

Upgraded MiG-31 interceptors to cover Russia's Arctic, other strategic directions — source

MiG-31s are ancient now. Why is Russia wasting money on them? Instead, put that money into more Su-57s and get cutting edge new jets.

It is not like anyone would dare to invade Russia in the next 4-5 years.

There is increasing concern in India as China makes inroads in the strategically important Arctic region which has large amount untapped minerals and fossil fuels.

Instead, we must focus on finding how to use this rising sea water to alleviate water crisis in Asia, jointly. Pursuing fossil fuels when they are only a decade away from their total demise is stupid.

Russia also needs to focus on more getting their economy to other resources and processing those resources.

They have such amazing scientific research and technology; It shocks me to see why they don't use their scientific research base and further move away from oil dependency like desert sheikhdoms.

Someone was bragging about over taking Russian and the American . Now you know the real power of super powers. India and China can never match these two beast .

And this is how big boys roll

China eventually will and soon. We won't given our political mismanagement and lack of prioritization of national interests through technology and research.

The frggin place is FRIGID!!! It's mind boggling how these arctic-claiming nations even keep their vehicles and equipment there running at negative 60 degrees, let alone staying in battle-ready condition. Bravo!

Battle in the Arctic is only a dream.

Running vehicles and managing supply bases is itself so difficult. As a part of my work, I have been to north Greenland. Forget fighting, you have to take a work break of 15-18 minutes after every 7 minutes of work so as not to sweat and go into hypothermia due to excessive exertion!

Having lived off semi-cooked fish and alcohol for a stretch of 15 days in such an environment (not to mention the danger of getting sun-burnt and frostbitten at the same time), I can tell you that fighting in such conditions, irrespective of the acclimatization, is unimaginable.

Unless of course, it is winter and there is no sunlight. But the temperatures would be worse and hypothermia onset would be much fast with severe casualties on both warring parties.

 

[vostok]

In fact there are only two military powers in the Arctic - Russia and Norway.