Angelina Cole
06-04-2019, 06:13 PM
The Arctic has always attracted and will attract the attention of investors because of its resource potential. However, until recently, the northern latitudes and their development have received little attention: the climate in the region is so severe that the cost of production is very high, and therefore could not be profitable. But because of global warming, the situation in the Arctic Ocean began to change: the ice is gradually receding and opens up not only access to oil and gas, but also the Arctic transport routes. Also, in the Arctic along the coast of Russia passes the Northern Sea Route, significantly reducing the time for the supply of goods and energy from Asia to Europe and North America.
Where there are rich natural resources and the most important sea routes lie, the risk of military-political conflicts is inevitable. Not only the countries that are directly adjacent to it, but also China, the United Kingdom, and even India claim for the Arctic region. As for the United States, they have limited access to the Arctic through Alaska, so Washington, along with other countries that do not have access to the Arctic Ocean, advocate the collective use of its resources, with the aim of preventing Russia from becoming a monopolist in the Arctic region extraction of energy. It should be recalled that on March 5, 2019, the commander of the European command of the US Armed Forces, General Curtis Scaparrotti, even declared about the readiness to contain Russia in the Arctic.
But according to analysts, the US has the smallest sector of the Arctic through Alaska and generally in the Arctic on bird rights. And it is inappropriate and unwise for Americans to make claims of free access to the entire Arctic: the United States does not have the capabilities and technical means to provide such access. Moreover, Washington does not have its own icebreaking fleet, in contrast to Moscow, which has the only and most powerful nuclear fleet in the world.
Speaking of the Northern Sea Route and its defense, it is given special attention to the defense in connection with the potential threat from countries claiming to navigate. So, for example, in 2018, the «Ron» French naval support ship passed the Northern Sea Route without warning. The commander wanted to familiarize his crew with «new knowledge about the region». If such voyages are not stopped immediately, then soon «military tourists» will become frequent uninvited guests in the Russian northern latitudes.
Thus, military bases were built in the north, the northern sky was closed by a continuous radar field of air defense, military units and military equipment were formed and redeployed. The task of maintaining order and protecting the northern sea routes is performed by special ice-class border guard shiзы. At the same time, combat tasks for the defense of the coastal zone (200 miles), in the waters of which the Northern Sea Route passes are assigned to the forces of the Northern and Pacific Fleets of the Russian Federation.
It is important to note that due to the technical characteristics (speed - 21 knots, ice class, cruising range - up to 12 thousand miles, autonomy up to 60 days) of these ships, in the world they have no analogues. Also, these ships has an automatic artillery installation AK-176M, two 14.5-mm machine guns, a helicopter hangar and a platform for receiving and servicing the Ka-27 helicopter. In wartime, such ships of the project 22100 can be equipped with anti-ship missile systems «Uran».
Since 2016, the lead ship of the project 22100 «Polar Star» has served in the Border Guard of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation in the Western Arctic Region. And in June 2018, the second border patrol ship, the «Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky» was launched, and now the third ship, the «Anadyr» is under construction. Thus, since Russia has the longest borders in the world, which require enhanced protection, the government of Russian President Vladimir Putin constantly modernizes and strengthens its position in the region, introducing the latest technologies, and also continues to master the region.
Where there are rich natural resources and the most important sea routes lie, the risk of military-political conflicts is inevitable. Not only the countries that are directly adjacent to it, but also China, the United Kingdom, and even India claim for the Arctic region. As for the United States, they have limited access to the Arctic through Alaska, so Washington, along with other countries that do not have access to the Arctic Ocean, advocate the collective use of its resources, with the aim of preventing Russia from becoming a monopolist in the Arctic region extraction of energy. It should be recalled that on March 5, 2019, the commander of the European command of the US Armed Forces, General Curtis Scaparrotti, even declared about the readiness to contain Russia in the Arctic.
But according to analysts, the US has the smallest sector of the Arctic through Alaska and generally in the Arctic on bird rights. And it is inappropriate and unwise for Americans to make claims of free access to the entire Arctic: the United States does not have the capabilities and technical means to provide such access. Moreover, Washington does not have its own icebreaking fleet, in contrast to Moscow, which has the only and most powerful nuclear fleet in the world.
Speaking of the Northern Sea Route and its defense, it is given special attention to the defense in connection with the potential threat from countries claiming to navigate. So, for example, in 2018, the «Ron» French naval support ship passed the Northern Sea Route without warning. The commander wanted to familiarize his crew with «new knowledge about the region». If such voyages are not stopped immediately, then soon «military tourists» will become frequent uninvited guests in the Russian northern latitudes.
Thus, military bases were built in the north, the northern sky was closed by a continuous radar field of air defense, military units and military equipment were formed and redeployed. The task of maintaining order and protecting the northern sea routes is performed by special ice-class border guard shiзы. At the same time, combat tasks for the defense of the coastal zone (200 miles), in the waters of which the Northern Sea Route passes are assigned to the forces of the Northern and Pacific Fleets of the Russian Federation.
It is important to note that due to the technical characteristics (speed - 21 knots, ice class, cruising range - up to 12 thousand miles, autonomy up to 60 days) of these ships, in the world they have no analogues. Also, these ships has an automatic artillery installation AK-176M, two 14.5-mm machine guns, a helicopter hangar and a platform for receiving and servicing the Ka-27 helicopter. In wartime, such ships of the project 22100 can be equipped with anti-ship missile systems «Uran».
Since 2016, the lead ship of the project 22100 «Polar Star» has served in the Border Guard of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation in the Western Arctic Region. And in June 2018, the second border patrol ship, the «Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky» was launched, and now the third ship, the «Anadyr» is under construction. Thus, since Russia has the longest borders in the world, which require enhanced protection, the government of Russian President Vladimir Putin constantly modernizes and strengthens its position in the region, introducing the latest technologies, and also continues to master the region.