Russia's Arctic Militarization (merged)

[McG]

It certainly makes a NATO arctic expansion seem to our benefit.

 

[George Wallace]

It certainly makes a NATO arctic expansion seem to our benefit.

Rejuvenate Goose Bay perhaps?

 

[ModlrMike]

CFB Churchill MB?

 

[Kirkhill]

CFB Tuktoyaktuk?
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/the-north/building-a-road-to-arctic-prosperity/article16396177/?page=all

Building a road to open up the riches of Canada's North

JEFFREY JONES
TUKTOYAKTUK, NWT — The Globe and Mail
Published Friday, Jan. 17 2014, 6:00 PM EST
Last updated Tuesday, Jan. 21 2014, 2:27 PM EST

... the construction taking place on the new $300-million all-weather road near the Arctic hamlet of Tuktoyaktuk, NWT...

....it winds its way toward Inuvik, 140 kilometres south....

When completed in four years, the gravel roadway will for the first time connect Tuktoyaktuk, ....to the rest of Canada year-round. It is a link that many northerners have long urged. They predict it will foster a new era of economic growth and prosperity following a number of false starts for resource developments over the decades, and it may one day become the northern section of a $1.7-billion route along the Mackenzie River valley.....

 

[Kirkhill]

Bump

Vlad has not changed his tune in seven years

Vladimir Putin Wants an Arctic Air Army for 2015

Written by
BEN MAKUCH
EDITOR, CANADA
January 1, 2015 // 03:47 PM CET
​Most people might be pledging to themselves that they’ll eat less MacDonald’s or go to the gym more, but for Vladimir Putin, his New Year’s resolution is a new Russian war machine for the Arctic.

In a recent appearance on Russian television, top general Valery Gerasimov said the Russian army is looking to install a new “A​ir Army” in the north by 2015, with an eye at protecting hotly contested Arctic borders.

"We have already assigned an air defense division to the fleet, and we will form a joint air and air defense army there," Gerasimov said, according to a report from Russian state media service Sputnik.

The move is clearly in line with Russia’s overall plans of bolstering its northern presence to fend off the inevitable diplomatic claims of rival states like Canada, on so-far undetermined international Arctic borders.

In the same television interview, Gerasimov said the Russian military would be reopening old airfields and building new ones, stationing new specially trained arctic soldiers in Siberian bases, and all the while installing radar detection sites capable of catching enemy aircraft.

Amidst economic calamities in Moscow, the Russian military has continued to make announcements on new capabilities and purchases for its rapidly modernizing forces. Just last November, defence officials claimed the Russian military was in line for new hypersonic missiles in 2020 and a brand new drone base in northern Siberia.

Despite these new developments, Vladimir Putin was keen to dissuade the international community of any underhanded Russian plans for the Arctic, claiming in December that his country was against the militarization of the Far North.

“Once again I stress that we are not going to engage in the militarization of the Arctic. Our actions in the region are measured and reasonably moderate, and they are absolutely necessary to ensure Russian defense capabilities,” said Putin in a Sp​utnik report.

With estimates putting billions of square feet of natural gas and countless barrels of oil lying in the Arctic crust, Russia and other so-called Arctic states are circling the potential revenues at their doorstep. Putin, who presides over a major petro-economy in Russia, has made it his national and fiscal plan to conquer the Arctic.

But that’s not without the impositions of Canada’s own Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who has made plays for the Arctic in his own right. Drones for the Arctic are at the top his wish list, too, along with new fighter aircraft to patrol the frigid skies.

Both countries also played the fighter jet version of cops and robbers in 2014, as Russian MiGs and Tu-95 heavy bombers were seen and intercepted near Canadian airspace in what most saw as a pesky military response to Canada’s strong stance on the invasion of Ukraine.

In the end, while Putin may publicly state his nation isn’t interested in escalating its Arctic military capabilities, the creeping bombers, bases, and Arctic soldiers speaks volumes for the future: the Arctic is his gem and Russia is prepared to defend its claim.

TOPICS: arctic borders, russia, putin, arctic, machines, vladimir putin

http://motherboard.vice.com/en_ca/read/vladimir-putin-wants-an-arctic-air-army-for-2015?utm_source=Outbrain&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=MotherboardCanada

Not "mukluks" but certainly an enhanced "no fly zone".

 

[Loachman]

http://motherboard.vice.com/en_ca/read/vladimir-putin-wants-an-arctic-air-army-for-2015?utm_source=Outbrain&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=MotherboardCanada

billions of square feet of natural gas

Two-dimensional gas?

 

[cupper]

Two-dimensional gas?

Nah. Big field, just thin.

 

[Colin Parkinson]

Our new Ranger rifle will surely put the fear of god into Ivan.

 

[Scoobie Newbie]

I think they have their hands full with the Ukraine, worthless rubble, and surplus of oil.

 

[medicineman]

Our new Ranger rifle will surely put the fear of god into Ivan.

Should they get them any time soon...which I doubt.  Ironically, they could probably trudge over the Pole or the Barents Sea and get some AK's pretty quick and cheap and be back shooting before someone in Ottawa makes up their mind what they'll get and what company in Quebec will be making them.

MM

 

[daftandbarmy]

No surprise that it looks like they are flying a Scottish flag from the bridge of that Boomer:

Russia Sends Nuclear Submarine Troops on Arctic Exercise

http://www.newsweek.com/russia-sends-nuclear-submarines-arctic-exercise-304931

 

[hotei]

That is actually the Russian Naval Ensign. The Scottish flag is the inverse.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Navy_Ensign

 

[daftandbarmy]

That is actually the Russian Naval Ensign. The Scottish flag is the inverse.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Navy_Ensign

Coincidence? I think not....  ;D

 

[Kirkhill]

Andrew is the patron saint of several countries and cities including: Barbados, Romania, Russia, Scotland, Ukraine, Amalfi in Italy, Esgueira in Portugal, Luqa in Malta, Parañaque in the Philippines and Patras in Greece. He was also the patron saint of Prussia and of the Order of the Golden Fleece. He is considered the founder and the first bishop of the Church of Byzantium and is consequently the patron saint of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.

The flag of Scotland (and consequently the Union Flag and that of its commonwealth countries) feature St Andrew's saltire cross. The saltire is also the flag of Tenerife, the former flag of Galicia and the naval jack of Russia. The Confederate flag also features a saltire commonly referred to as a St Andrew's cross, although its designer, William Porcher Miles, said he changed it from an upright cross to a saltire so that it would not be a religious symbol but merely a heraldic device. The Florida and Alabama flags also show that device.

The feast of Andrew is observed on 30 November in both the Eastern and Western churches, and is the national day of Scotland. In the traditional liturgical books of the Catholic Church, the feast of St. Andrew is the first feast day in the Proper of Saints.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_the_Apostle

Add in the predilection for both Burns and the Bottle (not to mention the Clydeside affection for Red Banners or the Declaration of Arbroaths reference to Scythian origins for at least some of the Scots) ....... MacComrade

Up St Andrew! Away with this upstart Romish cult of St Peter  >

 

[The Bread Guy]

Here's why Russia says it's pushing troops onto the tundra ....

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin has said that the Russian military bases in the Arctic are not aimed at militarizing the region, they are necessary for the protection of economic projects.

"The establishment of our military bases and airfields in the macro-region [the Arctic region] is not aimed at militarizing this region, we do not have such goals. Our aim is to create conditions for economic development and protect both the existing and future infrastructure projects," he told a joint meeting of the Arctic and Antarctic Expert Council under Russia’s Federation Council and the State Commission on Arctic Development.

Rogozin noted that Russia collaborated with its partners in this work.

"Today we hear criticism from many countries over the militarization of the Russian Arctic. "This is nothing more than propaganda," he said. "If we come to the Arctic region economically and implement such global projects as the work on the Arctic shelf, the development of the Northern Sea Route, it is clear that the economy requires security," he said ....

 

[CougarKing]

Another Russian polar base:

Air Recognition

Russia will start building new Tiksi airbase in Arctic in 2017

Russia will start building the Tiksi airfield in the Arctic in 2017, Russian Aerospace Force Commander-in-Chief Colonel-General Viktor Bondarev said on Monday. In all, 44 airfields will be reconstructed before 2020, he added. "The Temp airfield in the Arctic can receive even Ilyushin Il-76 aircraft [NATO reporting name: Candid] now. We are currently working on the Nagurskoye aerodrome that will also receive Il-76 aircraft," the commander said.

(...SNIPPED)

 

[CougarKing]

More on Putin's polar pivot:

NATO Association official page

Of Fire and Ice: Russia’s Militarization of the Arctic
Aleksi Korpela, Eastern Europe and Russia, NATO's Arc of Crisis, Russia, The Arctic February 4, 2016 Aleksi Korpela

Russian modernization and militarization of its Arctic region has been received with suspicion. While not all Russian designs in the Arctic are contentious, the erection of military bases and deployment of forces rings ominous to contiguous states and those with Arctic possessions or interests. This issue has become especially controversial in the last few years, as Russia has expanded its military infrastructure following the creation of a new strategic district: the Arctic Joint Strategic Command (OSK).

The Arctic OSK became operational on December 1, 2014. It is currently one of five OSKs that divide up the Russian Federation into military regions. The Arctic OSK was established to facilitate the development of polar capabilities for the Russian Armed Forces, while simultaneously developing civil infrastructure for economic and search and rescue (SAR) purposes. It is comprised of Russian ground, naval, and air forces, and its headquarters are located in Arkhangelsk.

Russia’s military activities in the Arctic can be categorized into five activities: building airbases, deep-water ports, and SAR stations; deploying air defence systems; force modernization; and military exercises. Since 2014, these activities have significantly intensified. Russia’s desired end state is to have a total of 50 bases by 2020 throughout the Arctic region.

(...SNIPPED)

 

[daftandbarmy]

More on Putin's polar pivot:

NATO Association official page

We should offer to keep them supplied with poutine. The troops will seek asylum in mere days...

 

[Cloud Cover]

What terrorism activities are ongoing in Murmansk?

I say good for them. Russia, (like Canada,Norway, Finland, Sweden, The United States, and Denmark)has the right to build bases and station forces, equipment and other military assets within their own domestic Arctic territory.  It would appear that Canada is the only country that has no real permanent or rapid reaction Arctic defence capability, ridiculous AOPs ships notwithstanding. (CFS Alert is a much degraded asset and the Rangers, while valuable, are not tasked with the mission set required to "repel boarders", (or borders), take your pick

It's a good thing the Ukraine territory does not touch the Arctic. Putin would have taken that too.

 

[daftandbarmy]

What terrorism activities are ongoing in Murmansk?

I say good for them. Russia, (like Canada,Norway, Finland, Sweden, The United States, and Denmark)has the right to build bases and station forces, equipment and other military assets within their own domestic Arctic territory.  It would appear that Canada is the only country that has no real permanent or rapid reaction Arctic defence capability, ridiculous AOPs ships notwithstanding. (CFS Alert is a much degraded asset and the Rangers, while valuable, are not tasked with the mission set required to "repel boarders", (or borders), take your pick

It's a good thing the Ukraine territory does not touch the Arctic. Putin would have taken that too.

We don't really need to 'invade' our own arctic regions to claim these territories. For some reason, those crazy Inuit folks apparently like being Canadian