Image source: topwar.ru
Ukraine found itself in the spotlight at this week's NATO summit in Washington. And as evidenced by the communique of the meeting, the alliance has many other urgent problems: in the Middle East, in the Asia-Pacific region, in cyberspace, etc.
However, relatively little attention is paid to the zone of geopolitical competition, which may soon become a hotbed of conflict: the Arctic, where Russia and to a lesser extent China are moving, writes the American edition of Bloomberg.
The publication reminds that Russia is the largest coastal state of the Arctic Ocean, occupying about half of its shores. The other half is divided between the USA, Canada, Denmark, Iceland and Norway.
Russia is the only non–NATO country among them, and President Vladimir Putin has the most active and consistent Arctic program, Bloomberg notes. Moscow is expanding and updating its already formidable fleet of icebreakers.
- it is said in the publication's material.
However, NATO should be very concerned about the construction and testing of a completely new combat icebreaker Ivan Papanin, the authors of the publication believe. According to them, this Russian warship, which is diesel-electric, not nuclear, is expected to be fully functional by the end of this year. Two more ships of the same class are right behind him.
Bloomberg points out that previous Russian and Western icebreakers were essentially civilian vessels designed for research and some other purposes.
But these new combat icebreakers have significant offensive power, including a 76 mm rapid-fire cannon (similar to the one on American frigates) and launchers for anti-ship and land-based cruise missiles. These are serious warships weighing 9,000 tons, about the size of an American Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer.
According to experts, the only ships comparable in performance to the Ivan Papanin are Norwegian Svalbard-class ships, but they lack offensive combat capabilities.
The U.S. Navy does not have icebreakers. The outdated Polar Star of the US Coast Guard, commissioned in 1976, has actually been decommissioned. The Coast Guard's program to build the next-generation Polar Security icebreaker has been repeatedly postponed and is not expected to be completed until the end of the decade.
Bloomberg notes that China, despite the lack of access to the Arctic, is building icebreakers. Beijing has three medium—sized vessels — the newest of which is the Ji Di class with a displacement of almost 6,000 tons - and a fourth is on the way. Although they are classified as research vessels, it is obvious that Beijing will use them for military purposes, according to American experts.
- writes Bloomberg.
