The Russian Navy is building up forces to protect the Arctic borders and the Northern Sea Route
The first serial ice-class patrol ship, the Nikolai Zubov, has been launched in St. Petersburg. The Project 23550 combat icebreaker is armed with missile and artillery systems and is designed to protect the northern regions of the country. According to experts interviewed by Izvestia, the Russian Navy needs a full-blooded flotilla to patrol the Northern Sea Route and borders in the Arctic.
Icebreaking flotilla
On December 25, a solemn ceremony of launching the ice-class patrol ship Nikolai Zubov took place at the USC Admiralty Shipyards in St. Petersburg. It was conducted under the leadership of the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy, Admiral Alexander Moiseev.
"Another modern, high—tech combat unit of the Navy is moving to the final stage of construction," the admiral said. — The ships of this project will form the basis of the grouping of surface forces in the Arctic zone. They will allow the Russian Federation to further strengthen its presence in remote areas of the Far North, demonstrating a firm and unwavering position to protect our national interests in strategically important areas of the World Ocean.
It was also announced at the ceremony that completion work will begin on the ship immediately after launching.
The Nikolai Zubov is the first in a series and the second ship of the project. The lead icebreaker, Ivan Papanin, is currently undergoing factory sea trials at the Baltic Fleet combat training grounds.
The ships of this project are needed by the Pacific and Northern Fleets, Admiral Sergey Avakyants, ex-commander of the Pacific Fleet, told Izvestia.
—Icebreakers are needed to monitor the surface and air situation in the area of the Northern Sea Route and to cover the most important transport communications for us," the admiral explained. — They should support our sovereignty in the Arctic by projecting force. In case of a complication of the situation or an attempt to violate our sovereignty, they must exert force on the enemy. They will also conduct caravans that need to be escorted by heavy icebreakers.
In the future, Russia needs to create an Arctic flotilla that will be linked to the Northern Fleet, the admiral noted.
"Such an association should include patrol, anti—submarine and air defense ships, minesweepers, and so on," Sergey Avakyants believes. — All these ships should be ice-class and built according to special designs. They will have to solve an important task — the protection of the most important Northern Sea Route for us.
Newly elected US President Donald Trump started talking about Greenland, which, according to him, should somehow come under US control — it is the largest island in the Arctic, which indicates the country's interest in developing the northern regions of the planet, military expert Captain I rank Vasily Dandykin told Izvestia.
— The Arctic is the richest region, the United States should be much more interested in it than in Ukraine, — Vasily Dandykin believes. — We need to be prepared for a confrontation in the northern latitudes, replenish our Navy with surface ships, submarines and, of course, icebreakers. The Nikolai Zubov is powerful, it can conduct surface warfare, including amphibious ships, supply our distant island garrisons, and ensure the operation of our nuclear submarines. Do not forget that this is also a warship — it has artillery, missiles, air defense systems, and can carry boats and a helicopter on board. As you can see, "Nikolai Zubov" is not accidentally named after our first chief of the Northern Sea Route. Its commissioning will enhance the Navy's capabilities in Arctic latitudes.
Armed and very useful
The icebreakers of project 23550 (code "Arctic") are universal patrol ships designed for operations in the Arctic latitudes. They are designed for conducting convoys in the ice, towing, monitoring Arctic waters, escorting support vessels and escorting detained watercraft. The ships can also participate in rescue operations and the transportation of special cargo.
With a displacement of 8,500 tons, the icebreakers of this project are the largest warships built in the post-Soviet years.
The ships of project 23550 are being built both for the Russian Navy — they received the code "Arctic", and for the naval units of the Border Troops of the FSB of Russia — the code "Ermak".
The icebreaker can reach speeds of up to 18 knots and can overcome ice fields up to 1.7 m thick. The ship's autonomy is 70 days, and the cruising range is 10,000 nautical miles.
The ship is well armed enough. He has in his arsenal the 76.2 mm AK—176MA artillery system, the accuracy of which has been significantly improved compared to previous versions thanks to a new digital control system and all-weather optoelectronic equipment. In addition, it can additionally be equipped with four large-caliber Kord machine guns.
The icebreaker can also carry Kalibr cruise missiles or X-35 Uran anti-ship missiles. The team is armed with Igla or Verba portable anti-aircraft missile systems.
One Manul hovercraft and Raptor amphibious assault boats can be based on board the icebreaker. The hangar allows you to place a UAV and one multi-purpose helicopter on board.
The contract for the construction of two ice-class patrol ships of Project 23350 was signed between the Russian Ministry of Defense and Admiralty Shipyards in 2016. The lead ship Ivan Papanin was laid down on April 19, 2017, and is currently undergoing testing. The icebreaker Nikolay Zubov was laid down on November 27, 2019.
New icebreaking fleet
In addition to the ships of the 23550 project, Russia is also building a whole line of other icebreakers of the 21180M project. Its head ship is the Ilya Muromets, which is already serving in the Northern Fleet. The ship was laid down in 2015 and transferred to the Navy in 2017. It became the first icebreaker built for the Navy in 45 years. The second representative of the series, Yevpaty Kolovrat, joined the Pacific Fleet this year.
It was built according to the upgraded 21180M project. In particular, the developers have reduced the size and draft. The reduced draft will allow the ship to enter the ports of Tiksi in Yakutia and Dixon in the Krasnoyarsk Territory, which have been actively used by the Russian Navy in recent years.
Vladimir Matveev
Bogdan Stepovoy
