就在俄罗斯在其遥远的北方进行大规模军事演习几天后,俄罗斯发射了一艘破冰船,这是该国在北极之战中被称为“王牌”的舰队的一部分。
在喧闹声中,8500吨300英尺长的Ivan Papanin周五在圣彼得堡海军造船厂揭幕,俄罗斯海军吹嘘其将拖船、巡逻船、破冰船和科学船的功能结合在一起的能力。
维克多·切尔科夫是建造它的国有联合造船公司的一名海军上将塔斯社*“我们想创造一艘能够确保我们在北极舰队安全的船只。与此同时,我们希望这艘船在北极冰区进行科学研究,当然,也希望它能可靠地确保我们在那里的国家利益的安全。”塔斯社称这艘船“独一无二”
保护北极是俄罗斯的一个关键战略目标,俄罗斯正寻求维护其对该地区大量海上石油和天然气供应的主权。
这艘船装备了便携式防空导弹系统,以一位著名的苏联探险家的名字命名,拥有Kalibr巡航导弹、电子战系统和直升机发射台。
它能够冲破6英尺厚的冰层,预计将于2022年或2023年投入使用。
建造这艘船的公司负责人格奥尔基·波尔塔夫琴科夸口说,它可以处理“无数不同的任务”,它的设计意味着它可以“极其高效地”在北极地区工作Gazeta.ru报道。
俄罗斯拥有世界上最大的破冰船队,由40艘公有和私有船只组成,包括6艘核动力船只,根据国家利益。
该出版物称Ivan Papanin以拥有“更像驱逐舰”的专用武器系统而闻名
2014年,俄罗斯海军军官在圣彼得堡海军造船厂参加俄罗斯柴油电力攻击潜艇斯塔里·奥斯卡的下水仪式。造船厂是俄罗斯新破冰船伊万·帕帕宁号揭幕的地方。
6月份欧亚日报他指出,到明年,莫斯科计划部署一支“多分支部队”,以应对“现有威胁”,保护其北极利益。
在一个标题为“军用破冰船——俄罗斯在北极战役中的王牌?”的故事中该出版物称,俄罗斯也在寻求部署这艘船尼古拉·祖博夫2024年,作为其计划的一部分,该公司将拥有可作为破冰船、巡逻艇和拖船的船只。
它表示,这表明莫斯科“决心确保对北海航线(NSR)以及横跨俄罗斯北极海岸连接东亚和北欧的东北通道俄罗斯部分的完全控制”。
十月初,超过12000名士兵参加了战争游戏在俄罗斯北极和远东,测试了五艘核潜艇、105架飞机和213个导弹发射器的决心。
大约15艘海军船只从北方舰队的总部西弗莫尔斯克驶往巴伦支海,包括核动力战斗巡洋舰Pyotr Velikiy(彼得大帝)。
然而,有故障随着K-44梁赞潜艇的测试,该潜艇在鄂霍次克海Chizha试验场仅发射了一枚弹道导弹,而不是两枚。
RUSSIA UNVEILS 'UNIQUE' WEAPONIZED ICEBREAKER AS IT EYES ARCTIC OIL AND GAS
Only days after it conducted wide-scale military exercises in its far north, Russia has launched an icebreaker which is part of a fleet dubbed the country's "trump card" in the battle for the Arctic.
Amid much fanfare, the 8,500-tonne 300-foot long Ivan Papanin was unveiled at the Admiralty Shipyard in St Petersburg on Friday as Russia's navy touted its ability to combine the functions of a tugboat, patrol, icebreaker and a scientific vessel.
Viktor Cherkov, an admiral at the state-owned United Shipbuilding Corporation which constructed it said, according to the Tass news agency: "We wanted to create a ship that would ensure the safety of our fleet in the Arctic. At the same time, we wanted the ship to carry out scientific research in the Arctic ice and, of course, for it to reliably ensure the safety of our national interests there." Tass described the vessel as "unique."
Securing the Arctic is a key strategic aim for Russia which is is looking to assert its claim on vast supplies of offshore oil and gas in the region.
Armed with a portable anti-aircraft missile system, the ship named after a prominent Soviet explorer, possesses Kalibr cruise missiles, an electronic warfare system and a helicopter launch pad.
Able to smash through ice up to 6 feet thick, it is expected to be commissioned in 2022 or 2023.
The head of the corporation which constructed the vessel, Georgy Poltavchenko, boasted that it can cope with "unlimited number of different tasks" and its design meant that it could work in the Arctic region "extremely efficiently," Gazeta.ru reported.
Russia has the biggest icebreaker fleet in the world, comprising of 40 publicly and privately owned vessels, including six nuclear-powered ships, according to The National Interest.
The publication said that the Ivan Papanin was notable for having a dedicated weapon system "more akin to a destroyer."
Russian navy officers attend the launching ceremony of the Russian diesel-electric attack submarine Stary Oskol on Admiralty Shipyard in Saint Petersburg in 2014 in this illustrative image. The shipyard was the scene of the unveiling of Russia's new icebreaker, the Ivan Papanin.
In June, the Eurasia Daily Monitor noted that by next year, Moscow was planning to deploy a "multi-branch force" which could react to "existing threats" and protect its Arctic interests.
In a story headlined, "Military Icebreakers—Russia's trump card in the battle for the Arctic?" the publication said that Russia was also looking to deploy the vessel Nikolay Zubov in 2024 as part of its plan to have vessels that can act as an icebreaker, patrol ship and tugboat.
It said this demonstrated Moscow's "determination to secure complete control over the Northern Sea Route (NSR)" as well as the Russian part of the Northeast Passage that links east Asia and northern Europe across Russia's Arctic coast.
Earlier in October, more than 12,000 troops took part in war games in the Russian Arctic and far east which tested the resolve of five nuclear submarines, 105 aircraft, and 213 missile launchers.
Some 15 navy vessels sailed from the headquarters of the Northern Fleet, Severomorsk, to the Barents Sea, including the nuclear-powered battle cruiser Pyotr Velikiy (Peter the Great).
However, there was a glitch with the testing of the K-44 Ryazan submarine which only managed to fire one ballistic missile instead of two at the Chizha test range from the Sea of Okhotsk.