Russian Arctic Military Buildup: A New Race

Описание: This video is about growing Russian Military Power in Arctic.
⌚ Timestamps:
00:00 Russian Military buildup in Arctic
01:03 Russian Nagurskaya Airfield in Arctic
02:28 Russian Military motives in Arctic
05:57 Russian Control over Northern Sea Route
07:40 Russian Control over Arctic Natural Resources

The motives behind growing military presence of Russia in Arctic are to have advantageous military positions against NATO, to control Northern Sea Route and to control Arctic Natural Resources. Russian has recently enhanced its military might in Arctic by further strengthening Nagurskaya Airfield on the Alexandra land Island of Franz Josef Land Archipelago in the Arctic. In a move to show mussels, Russia has recently granted special excess of the base to western media. Landing of IL-76 airlifter at this remote part of Arctic, gigantic new-technology constructions at the base and installed air defense missile systems have created a source of discomfort and concern for NATO nations in general and for United States of America in particular.
It is situated at 600 miles south of geographic North Pole and built in 1950s. In 2017, with the visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin, world came to know about the commissioning of a new all-season runway at Nagurskoye Airbase . Recently, the runway has been further extended to 3500 meters. Air field is now able to accommodate all type of military aircrafts including fighter jets, cargo plans, heavy airlifters like IL-76 and even nuclear-capable Russian Heavy Strategic Bomber TU-95.The shamrock-shaped facility, three large pods extending from a central atrium, is called the “Arctic Trefoil” and is painted with the Russian Flag.
First Motive – Military Might
Militarily, location of Nagurskaya Airfield is ideal for Russia to keep any eye on NATO nations and on US. By looking at a glob instead of a map, it is realized that the shortest route between missile bases of US & Russia is over the Arctic, not over the Atlantic. Russia has deployed K-300 Bastion-P Coastal Defense Missile System at the air field which can hit a target at the distance of 200 miles offshore. The powerful surveillance and reconnaissance installations of Naguskaya Airfield can track the movements of NATO and US aircrafts. Earlier this year, Russian military conducted drills at airfield with ground troops and MiG-31 fighters flying over the North Pole. The exercise also saw three nuclear submarines smash through the Arctic ice next to one another in a carefully planned show of force. Russian Arctic buildup has also guaranteed the security of Kola Peninsula, home to seven of the Russian Navy’s Eleven Ballistic Missile Submarines. In recent years, Russia has unveiled a new Arctic command, four new Arctic Brigade Combat teams, 14 new operational airfields, 16 deep water ports and a fleet of 40 icebreakers with an additional 11 in development. Whereas, US has only 1 operational icebreaker.
In response, USA has also enhanced the capabilities of its Thule Air Base in Greenland, 750 mile north of Arctic Circle. FPS-1 3 2 Radar of Thule Air Base is designed to detect Inter Continental Ballistic Missiles flying towards USA. However, what worries Pentagon is that Moscow’s TU-1 6 0 bombers, now deployed at Nagurskaya airfield, are fitted with KH-101 nuclear capable long range stealth cruise missiles which can easily target American Early Warning Stations of Thule and Filingdales Moor undetected. If this happens, USA will not be able to detect any ICBM flying towards USA through Arctic unless it reaches the US soil.
Second Motive – To Control Northern Sea Route
Second motive behind the Russian increased military footprints in the Arctic is to control 3470-mile Northern Sea Route stretched from Norway to Alaska along Russia’s Arctic Coast. A tanker carrying liquefied natural gas from northern Russia to China has recently tested the shorter Northern Sea Route for the very first time with the help of icebreaker. The route cut the shipping time by nearly half. Russia considers the Northern Sea Route as its National Transport Corridor.
Third Motive – To Control Natural Resources of Arctic
The last and most important motive of Russian military might in Arctic is to grasp estimated one third of world’s undiscovered oil and gas reserves located in the icy region.

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