Putin stated the need to form a new image of the Russian navy against the background of the changing situation in the world.
The situation on the world stage — its threats and challenges, as well as the digital revolution — require the Russian Navy to form a new image.: 8.4 trillion rubles have already been allocated for the construction of modern ships over the next 10 years. Vladimir Putin said this on April 11 at a meeting on the development of the Navy. Now, for example, the qualitative development of the fleet will be helped by the release of domestic ship—based drones and the mass production of unmanned boats - they will have to be included in the unified intelligence complex of Russia. At the same time, a large-scale naval modernization program is already underway in the Russian Federation: 49 ships of various classes have been built in the last five years alone, the president recalled.
How will the Navy develop in the coming years
Vladimir Putin left for St. Petersburg on April 11. In the morning, the media actively discussed the possible meeting of the Russian leader with the special envoy of the US president, Steve Witkoff, who flew to Russia that day. But before it, Putin called a meeting on strengthening and developing the Navy. The planning horizon is serious — up to 2050.
The authorities pay special attention to the development of the fleet: at the end of March, the president visited Murmansk, where he announced the need to commission a new generation of icebreakers, including nuclear ones. At the same time, he launched the launch of a new Russian nuclear submarine of the fourth generation Perm. This is the first multi-purpose submarine armed with Zircon hypersonic cruise missiles. Its range exceeds 1,000 km, and its speed is under 10 mach. The President also inspected the Arkhangelsk nuclear submarine.
This time, the priorities for the development of shipbuilding were outlined. At the same time, the changing situation in the world today leads to the emergence of new challenges and threats, including in maritime areas. And such a rapid technological revolution and robotization, including the widespread introduction of unmanned systems, also requires the formation of a new look for the Navy, the president noted.
Vladimir Putin considers the development of domestic unmanned ship-based aviation systems and marine robotic complexes, as well as the mass production of unmanned underwater and surface boats, to be a fundamental moment for the qualitative development of the fleet.
Strengthening the Russian navy in its key segment of strategic nuclear forces remains one of the priorities. They serve as the most important guarantee of Russia's security and the preservation of global balance, Vladimir Putin recalled. Already, the share of modern weapons and equipment in Russia's naval strategic nuclear forces is 100%, and this figure will have to be maintained in the future.
— The Navy has played and is playing a crucial role in ensuring the defense and security of Russia, in protecting its national interests in the oceans. Both today and in the future, our ships should be able to effectively solve the full range of tasks assigned to them," the head of state stressed.
Today, the hegemony of the United States is considered one of the threats to the Russian Navy (this, in particular, is spelled out in the naval doctrine, which the president approved in 2022). The American navy ranks first in the world, which allows the United States to project its policy to the whole world, Rear Admiral Mikhail Chekmasov recalled.
— In particular, we remember the bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999, which took place from the sea, or the actions against Iraq. This experience should be taken into account, but it should not be repeated, so now we are also building our maritime policy," the expert told Izvestia.
The military expert recalled that they are trying to put pressure on the Russian Federation in the Baltic, and the countries of this region are threatening to arrest ships flying the Russian flag. In such circumstances, the Russian Federation cannot but pay attention to the development of its own fleet.
How much will the Russian Federation spend on fleet development
In the coming decade, 8.4 trillion rubles are provided for the construction of new ships and vessels of the Navy, and these funds should be taken into account when forming the state armament program, the president instructed. According to Mikhail Chekmasov, the amount mentioned by the head of state for direct construction is decent money.
— And these 8.4 trillion rubles are not in the general bag of the Ministry of Defense, but are assigned to the Navy. Since this is also the president's decision, no one will be able to seriously reduce them, we will have to make ships and account for them," the expert said.
Vladimir Putin managed to discuss the allocation of these funds separately before the meeting with Finance Minister Anton Siluanov. "This is a matter of principle, these funds are provided, but it will depend on the Navy development program itself," the head of state said.
The serial production of modern ships of various classes will also increase.: They should be equipped with advanced technology, including high-precision and hypersonic weapons, robotic complexes, and have new control, reconnaissance, communications, radar, sonar, and navigation systems, the head of state said.
— Starting in 2010, Russia began actively commissioning new ships into the fleet. The pace of ship construction is not as fast as it was during the Soviet Union, but what is being done now is a lot of painstaking work carried out by scientists and designers. In addition, it is very important that a military shipbuilding program is being adopted, which is designed until 2050. It existed before, but they decided to correct it taking into account the new geopolitical realities," Chekmasov explained.
Special attention in the development of the industry should be paid to the settlement of pricing issues in the shipbuilding industry and the development of the production of Russian components and equipment, Vladimir Putin noted.
The basis of training programs for military sailors should be a modern strategy and tactics of warfare, including taking into account the experience of a special military operation.
— All these systems operating in the air, underwater, and on the sea surface must be closely integrated into a single reconnaissance and strike contour, connected to our satellite constellation. It is precisely such advanced technological solutions and balanced development of the fleet in all strategic areas that will allow us to effectively solve problems in the field of security, defense, and protection of our interests in the oceans and in the context of global geopolitical and technological changes," Vladimir Putin said.
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| Ships of the Russian Navy. |
| Source: RIA Novosti/Vitaly Nevar |
However, in recent years, a large-scale naval modernization program has already been underway in Russia. Russian shipyards from Kaliningrad to Vladivostok are mass—producing surface ships and new missile submarines. For example, 49 ships of various classes have been built in the last five years alone, and since 2020, four strategic submarines of the Borey-A project and four multipurpose submarines of the Yasen-M project have been commissioned into the Navy.
Alyona Nefedova
Julia Leonova
