TSAMTO, April 21. The Northern Fleet is now able to ensure the protection of national interests and the military security of the state in the Arctic.
This was stated by the head of the military department, Army General Sergei Shoigu, at a meeting of the Board of the Russian Defense Ministry, which was held on April 20 at the National Defense Control Center of the Russian Federation.
According to him, the total staffing of the fleet with military personnel under the contract is 97%, by the end of the year their number will increase to 99.2%.
Re-equipment for new types of weapons continues. This year, 245 units of modern weapons should be delivered, as a result, its share will reach 62.3% by the end of the year.
The Northern Fleet is expected to test 79 samples of military equipment, including 13 ships and vessels, four nuclear submarines: "Novosibirsk", "Krasnoyarsk", "Prince Oleg", "Generalissimo Suvorov".
"In addition, this year it is planned to complete tests of the hypersonic cruise missile "Zircon". This complex is supposed to equip nuclear submarines and surface ships of the far sea zone, " the Defense Minister added.
Sergei Shoigu noted that the latest warships adopted last year – the nuclear-powered submarine "Prince Vladimir" and the frigate "Admiral of the Fleet Kasatonov" - successfully made the first long-distance trips and performed combat service tasks in operationally important areas of the World Ocean.
"I emphasize that the training of the forces and troops of the Northern Fleet is carried out in the harsh conditions of the Arctic and the Arctic. The high professionalism of the fleet personnel was demonstrated during a comprehensive Arctic expedition conducted under the leadership of the Commander-in – Chief of the Navy in the area of the Franz Josef Land archipelago, " the head of the military department said. – The expedition involved more than 600 military and civilian personnel, about 200 samples of weapons and military equipment. For its support, 66 sorties of military transport aviation were carried out."
In addition, in the difficult navigation of the Cambridge Strait, for the first time in the history of the Navy, three nuclear submarines surfaced in the ice in a limited area with a radius of 300 m.
During the expedition, a flight was made to the polar region with refueling in the air of two MiG-31 fighters, which passed the geographical point of the North Pole and successfully solved other tasks.
"It is important to say that the Northern Fleet is constantly practicing the use of fighter aircraft from the airfields of the Arctic archipelagos," the Defense Minister said.
The development of military infrastructure on the Arctic islands and the coast of the Arctic Ocean continues.
Last year, at the Nagurskaya airfield, located on the island of Alexandra Land, the construction of a 3.5-thousand-meter-long runway was completed, which allows receiving all types of aircraft.
The construction of the Temp airfield on the Novosibirsk Islands archipelago is being completed. In the interests of the 3rd Air Defense Division, a military camp is being built in the village of Tiksi in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), according to the Department of Information and Mass Communications of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation.
