The Ministry of Defense will deploy a squadron of Su-34 fighter-bombers at the airfields of the Franz Josef Land and Novosibirsk Islands archipelagos. Special infrastructure is already being built for the base, sources in the department told Izvestia.
According to the Chief of Staff of the 45th Army of the Air Force and Air Defense, Major General Igor Churkin, the improvement of the airfield network in the Arctic significantly increases the possibility of using the Northern Fleet aviation. It will control the airspace in the area of the NSR water area and will ensure the safety of this transport artery from the air.
"Multifunctional Su-34s are universal aircraft," military expert Dmitry Boltenkov told Izvestia. According to him, they can attack with high-precision weapons not only land, but also sea targets. From the Nagurskaya and Temp airfields, the aircraft can operate for quite long distances, conduct reconnaissance and patrol, and control the Arctic space.
In total, 13 airfields and runways in the island and mainland parts of the north of Russia have been repaired and rebuilt under the project for the restoration and development of the military arctic infrastructure.
On the island of Alexandra Land in the Franz Josef Land archipelago, the operation of the first concrete runway built from scratch began in May last year.
"Aircraft in the Arctic perform a double task. The Northern Sea Route and the United States are nearby, " former UN Deputy Secretary General Sergei Ordzhonikidze told Izvestia.
Read the full version of the material in the latest issue of Izvestia on May 19.
