Active 2014 - present Type Joint command Garrison/HQ Severomorsk | Country Russia Part of Russian Armed Forces | |
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The Arctic Joint Strategic Command (also: North Unified Strategic Command) is a Russian military command established on December, 1st, 2014. The Arctic Strategic Command area of responsibility includes Russian territories in the Arctic.
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The new Joint Strategic Command will establish a fifth Russian Military District, the Northern Military District, before 2020. Core of both the Arctic Joint Strategic Command and of the future Northern Military District will be the Russian Northern Fleet which will also be the main striking force. Stepwise, the military command will take control of various territories, units, vessels and formations currently being part of the Eastern and Central military districts. It will also take over vessels from the Southern military district.
In addition, the Strategic Command will take over ground Arctic warfare brigades, air force and air defence units as well as additional administrative structures, which don't exist up to now. They will be established within the next few years by the Northern Fleet and by the Central and Eastern military districts. Alongside the conventional forces, also a special force grouping is to be established.
Bases
The Russian Ministry of Defence is in the process of building 13 air-defense radar stations in the Russian Arctic.
Airfields and ports on several islands, which were last used by the Soviet Union, will be re-opened: the 'Temp Air Base' on the New Siberian Islands (Kotelny Island), the Rogachevo Air Base on Novaya Zemlya and the Nagurskoye Air Base in the Franz Josef Land archipelago. A newly built naval base on the Wrangel Island will add to that.
In addition, at least seven airfields on the continental part of the Arctic Circle will be opened or re-opened, with Tiksi in Yakutia expected to house the bulk of the Arctic air force. Other continental airfields include Naryan-Mar Airport, Alykel Airport close to the city of Norilsk and Mys Shmidta and Ugolny Airport, both located in Chukotka.
Naval Forces
As of January, 7th, 2015, the commander of the Northern Fleet reportedly envisaged a series of coordination-improving tasks, including submarine underwater operations, assigned to cruise vessels. Russian Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov also said that it will be set up a specialised training centre for servicemen doing military service in the Arctic Region in 2015.
Ground forces
The ground element of the command will incorporate two Arctic motorized infantry brigades, including the 200th Independent Motor Rifle Brigade and the 80th Independent Motor Rifle Brigade (formed January 2015).
The brigades are expected to accomplish coast patrolling missions, protect sites and territories on the coast of the northern seas and the Arctic Ocean, support and escort ships sailing along the Northern Sea Route, and demonstrate the military presence in the Arctic.
According to Commander-in-Chief of the Land Force, Colonel General Oleg Salyukov, an Arctic motorized rifle brigade is, as of October 2014, under formation in the Murmansk Oblast, near the Norwegian border, while the second brigade is scheduled for 2016 to be stationed in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug.
Air and air defence forces
Air Defence forces are said to consist of Pantsir-S1 missile and artillery systems, which have been put on duty on the Kotelny Island of the Novosibirsk archipelago in 2014. The deployment of intermediate and long-range air defence systems in this area has also been planned.
The command involved is the 1st Air Force and Air Defence Command, and specifically the 1st Air and Space Defence Brigade, including the 531st, 583rd, and 1258th Air Defence Regiments, the 331st and 332d Radio-Technical Regiments, plus other units stationed in the Murmansk, Chukotka and Arkhangelsk Oblasts. Air Force Commander-in-Chief Colonel-General Viktor Bondarev told in an interview that by 2017 the Tiksi airport complex will be operational, and it will be garrisoned with upgraded MiG-31 interceptors.
In January 2016, Defence Minister Sergey Shoygu announced that the 45th Air and Air Defence Army (45-я армия ВВС и ПВО Северного флота) had been formed under control of the Northern Fleet in December 2015.