Pentagon report: Russia is deploying new, specially modified air-defense systems to the Arctic

[Hindustani78]

• Aug. 18, 2015, 4:20 PM
  
  

Russia is moving air defense systems modified for the harsh Arctic environment to key areas near its borders with Norway and the US, the US Army's Foreign Military Studies Office (FMSO) notes in its August 2015 report.

According to the FMSO, the Kremlin is looking to place short-to-medium range antiaircraft SA-22 Pantsir-S1 battalions at Murmansk by the Norwegian border and at unspecified locations in the east of Russia facing both the US and Japan.

The twin-barreled Pantsir is a staple of Russian air defense, the FMSO notes. It has a range of upwards of 19 miles and can function in temperatures as low as -58 degrees Farenheit, making it the perfect weapon for Russia to deploy to its planned string of military bases throughout the Arctic.

Altough it's primarily an air defense system, RIA Novosti notes that the Pantsir can also "protect the defended asset from ground-based and water surface-based threats."

Pantsir battalions have been deployed to the Arctic before. But the weapon systems encountered difficulties, as the extreme operating conditions wrecked havoc on the chassis typically used to carry the missile system. The modified Pantsir will likely be mounted on the newly developed chassis for Russia's hulking third-generation Armata tank.

Mike Nudelman/Business Insider

Russia's militarization of the Arctic comes as the region's ice melts and the area takes on greater geopolitical significance.

The US estimates that about 15% of the world's remaining oil, up to 30% of its natural gas deposits, and about 20% of its liquefied natural gas are stored in the Arctic seabed. Receding Arctic ice would also open up new shipping routes through formerly ice-covered areas.

To capitalize on its advantageous Arctic position, Russia has began a substantial upgrade of its military assets in the region.

In total, Moscow's plans involve the opening of ten Arctic search-and-rescue stations, 16 deep-water ports, 13 airfields, and 10 air-defense radar stations across its Arctic periphery. Once completed, this construction will allow Russia to project hard power into a new strategic and commercial frontier.

It will have other military implications as well, since the new bases will "permit the use of larger and more modern [bomber aircraft]" in the region, Mark Galeotti, a Russia expert at New York University, writes for The Moscow Times." By 2025, the Arctic waters are to be patrolled by a squadron of next-generation stealthy PAK DA bombers."

 

[C130]

Ruskies I don't think Polar Bears have airplanes this is overkill just send in the snowmobiles.

 

[opruh]

Good, Russia is the rightful owner of the Arctic. Americans can go harvest snow in the middle east.

 

[Penguin]

• 
  Pantsir battalions have been deployed to the Arctic before. But the weapon systems encountered difficulties, as the extreme operating conditions wrecked havoc on the chassis typically used to carry the missile system. The modified Pantsir will likely be mounted on the newly developed chassis for Russia's hulking third-generation Armata tank.

 

[Hindustani78]

Ruskies I don't think Polar Bears have airplanes this is overkill just send in the snowmobiles.

Russian Federation do have the largest B.Missiles launchers and interceptors placed all along its borders . be it eastern Europe, Far East and Central Asia.

 

[C130]

Good, Russia is the rightful owner of the Arctic. Americans can go harvest snow in the middle east.

the arctic belongs to no one. only what's within our respective EEZ is ours.

but if push comes to show we will take a bigger slice.

 

[vostok]

the arctic belongs to no one. only what's within our respective EEZ is ours.

but if push comes to show we will take a bigger slice.

And we will take half of the Arctic.

(The flag on the ocean floor at the North Pole)

 

[Hindustani78]

Russia launches military drills in Arctic | Zee News


Last Updated: Monday, August 24, 2015 - 20:05


Moscow: Russia launched military exercises in the Arctic on Monday as it seeks to bolster claims to the region's vast hydrocarbon and mineral wealth.


More than 1,000 soldiers, 14 aircraft and 34 special military units are taking part in drills in northern Siberia, weeks after Russia pressed a claim at the United Nations for an additional 1.2 million square kilometres of Arctic shelf.

"These drills are aimed at increasing the security of the Russian Arctic, ensuring our state's economic freedom in this region, and protecting our territory and targets from potential military threats," the defence ministry quoted Vladimir Korolyov, the commander of Russia's northern naval fleet, as saying today.

Korolyov also stressed that the exercise was "purely defensive in nature" and was not directed against any third country.

Russia conducted similar military drills in May.

Moscow has been trying to stake claim to more of the region's vast energy and mineral resources, increasingly accessible due to the receding ice caps, despite warnings from environmentalists.

The Arctic shelf claim Russia made earlier this month includes the North Pole and could potentially give it access to some 4.9 billion tonnes of hydrocarbons, according to government estimates.

AFP

 

[Hindustani78]

ARCTIC OCEAN (July 30, 2015) Sailors aboard the fast attack submarine USS Seawolf (SSN 21) remove Arctic ice from the hull after surfacing at the North Pole. Seawolf conducted routine Arctic operations. (U.S. Navy photo/Released)

 

[Hindustani78]

https://sputniknews.com/military/201702191050833471-russia-equipment-launch-arctic/

Testing of new models of Russian military equipment has begun in the Arctic, Deputy Defense Minister Gen. Dmitry Bulgakov said on Sunday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — He noted that in the next few weeks specialists were to navigate a route in Russia's north from the village of Tiksi to Kotelny Island, using new snow and swamp-going vehicles, and then back across the ice cover of the Laptev Sea, by straits between the islands and the coastal area.

"Today, experts of the Main Armored Vehicle Directorate of the Russian Defense Ministry and representatives of the industry began to research and test new and promising models of weapons and military and special equipment in the Arctic," Bulgakov said.

Bulgakov added that the equipment and the personnel of the expedition had been provided with everything necessary, and "the personnel are dressed in modern Arctic uniform, and provided with Arctic fuel and necessary food supplies."

According to the deputy minister, during the march, some new technical solutions for the military vehicles will be evaluated, allowing, at low temperatures, to maintain autonomy and readiness of the models to carry out necessary tasks.

A range of military vehicles, including snowmobiles, two-unit transport vehicles, special vehicles on low pressure tires on the basis of all-terrain vehicles TREKOL, which had been finalized by department requirements, and upgraded two-tier DT-10PM and DT-30PM transporters, will undergo tests.

In 2013, Russia announced a strategy to increase its presence in the Arctic and to boost the region's development by 2020. In December 2014, Russia unveiled a revised military doctrine that prioritizes the protection of national interests in the Arctic.

 

[Penguin]

The new Pantsyr-SA air defense system is mounted on DT-30 Vityaz all-terrain tracked vehicle.

http://defence-blog.com/army/russia...nse-missile-system-for-arctic-operations.html
https://defence.pk/threads/russia-d...-missile-system-for-arctic-operations.459984/