How does increased NATO activity in the region affect the combat training of our sailors
Experts believe that the systemic challenge that NATO has decided to throw at Russia simultaneously in the Baltic and in the Arctic is correcting the combat training of the Russian navy. According to them, this affected the nature of the large-scale exercises in the Barents Sea, which were announced by the Russian Defense Ministry on August 3. The Northern Fleet worked out the interaction between naval aviation, coastal missile systems, surface and submarines — the goal was to destroy the naval grouping of the imaginary enemy. Such maneuvers are especially relevant given the accession of Sweden and Finland to NATO, and the unfriendly activity of Norway, analysts say.
How did the Northern Fleet exercises go?
The Northern Fleet conducted exercises in the Barents Sea to defeat naval groups of a simulated enemy, the Russian Defense Ministry announced on August 3. The frigate Admiral Golovko, the missile cruiser Marshal Ustinov and the Bastion coastal missile system were involved in them.
From the air, the ships were supported by several types of aircraft at once: the anti-submarine Tu-142, Su-24m bombers, MiG-29k carrier-based fighters, Tu-22M3 missile carriers and the Il-78 tanker.
The Tu-142 detected enemy forces and transmitted target designations to the group's command post, the Admiral Golovko frigate. After that, the ship's group destroyed the simulated enemy landing force with artillery fire.
Then, a combined rocket salvo was launched at targets simulating the main enemy grouping located 300 km away. The frigate launched the Kalibr anti—ship missile, the Vulkan cruiser, and the Bastion coastal complex struck with a supersonic Onyx from the Rybachy Peninsula.
The Orel nuclear submarine put an end to the exercises — while underwater, it fired three more Granit cruise missiles at the target.
Which missiles were used during the exercise
A Kalibr cruise missile in an anti-ship variant with a range of up to 500 km was launched from Admiral Golovko, military expert Dmitry Kornev told Izvestia. It has a special warhead that develops high speed at the last stage of flight and overcomes the air defense of the facility.
— The Vulkan cruise missile with a range of up to a thousand kilometers, launched from Marshal Ustinov, is one of the most powerful cruise missiles in service with the fleet. It can carry both conventional and nuclear warheads. It is capable of hitting naval targets of any class," Dmitry Kornev explained.
The coastal Missile Division launched the supersonic Onyx anti-ship missile, which has a high capability to penetrate the air defenses of modern ships of any country, the expert noted. It is almost impossible to shoot down this missile with modern naval air defense systems.
— Granit cruise missiles, which were launched by the nuclear submarine Orel at the end of the exercises, are one of the largest supersonic missiles used by groups. They can reach the target from different directions. The range is up to 700 km. They can hit both sea and land targets," Dmitry Kornev noted.
The Northern Fleet annually holds such events, said "Izvestia" Candidate of Military Sciences, Rear Admiral Mikhail Chekmasov.
"Preparations for such an event have been underway throughout the year," he said. — Different forces perform single tasks. And now the joint tasks are being carried out by the fleet forces. Naval aviation, coastal troops, surface and underwater forces are involved. The interaction between different forces and the fleet troops is being worked out.
The confrontation in the northern regions has intensified due to the fact that Sweden and Finland have become members of NATO, the rear admiral added. These countries are conducting their own exercises. The Northern Fleet tracks and analyzes them.
As a result, during large—scale exercises in the Northern Fleet, a specific scenario was worked out - countering amphibious landings and fighting enemy naval groups, military expert Captain 1st rank Vasily Dandykin told Izvestia.
"The relevance of such a scenario is due to very specific threats in the Arctic from NATO countries,— he said.
Norway is most active in the north.
— In recent years, Oslo has been behaving extremely unfriendly, — the expert noted. — The government of this country is one of the main sponsors of the Kiev regime. They can afford it, because after Russia began to be squeezed out of the European gas market, Norway, as an oil and gas producing country, earned huge amounts of money.
The Scandinavian country is actively expanding its military infrastructure.: New training centers and training grounds for the armed forces are being built.
"The Northern Fleet is designed to fend off such challenges,— Vasily Dandykin explained. — Its tasks are clearly defined: destroying the enemy on the shore and striking at enemy surface ship groups. It is for this reason that the maneuvers were conducted at a great distance using main-caliber weapons.
The expansion of the alliance's northern flank due to the entry of Sweden and Finland, of course, forced us to adjust our combat training plans, the expert noted.
NATO has decided to challenge us systematically both in the Baltic and in the Arctic. Therefore, all combat training of the fleet is now carried out taking into account the possibility of such a development.
The geography of the Northern Fleet's responsibilities is vast, from ensuring the safety of the Northern Sea Route to operational operations in the North Atlantic.
Formally, the scenario of the exercises can be called defensive — the defense of the coast was practiced without the task of capturing bridgeheads. But any competent military understands that modern defense is extremely active, Vasily Dandykin noted.
Roman Kretsul
Bogdan Stepovoy
