The confrontation with NATO continues to escalate, and the Russian Northern Fleet will form a new group army. Russia | Fleet | NATO

Hot news: According to the website of the Russian newspaper "Shimbun", the Russian Ministry of Defense has recently made a decision to build a composite army of various branches of the Northern Fleet, consisting of motorized infantry brigades, regiments, and division level combat units. Its personnel will receive polar combat training to adapt to extreme weather and terrain challenges.

Comment: In recent years, with the changes in the international security situation, especially the military needs brought about by the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Russia has increased its military strength, including the expansion and increase of military posts, the establishment of a new force command system, the acceleration of the delivery of major types of weapons and special technical equipment, and actively prepared for the long-term confrontation with NATO and the victory of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The purpose of the formation of a new composite group army by the Northern Fleet this time is, on the one hand, to enhance its overall combat strength, enhance Russia's defense and deterrence in the Arctic region, and on the other hand, to cope with NATO's eastward expansion and increasingly frequent military activities in the Arctic region. From the perspective of future development, with the continuous fermentation of the Russia-Ukraine conflict process, Russia will continue to take more measures to confront NATO, and the bilateral relations will continue to be tense.

Assist in enhancing the overall strength of the Northern Fleet

The Northern Fleet is one of Russia's important maritime military forces, with strong combat capabilities and military strength. According to the 2023 Global Military Balance report by the UK Institute for International Strategic Studies, the Northern Fleet currently consists of 26 submarines, 10 surface combat vessels, 8 mine warfare/mine countermeasures vessels, 8 amphibious vessels, as well as a large number of fighter jets, anti submarine aircraft, and air defense systems. Its overall strength ranks first among the four major Russian fleets. The most important thing is that the Northern Fleet is equipped with nearly two-thirds of Russia's strategic nuclear submarines, especially the Type 955 "Goddess of the North Wind" class nuclear submarine, which is one of Russia's highest military technological achievements. The "Goddess of the North Wind" class nuclear submarine is equipped with 16 RSM-56 "Brava" missile channels, each missile can carry 10 separate warheads, and a single nuclear submarine can carry a total explosive yield of 76 million tons of nuclear warheads, making it a truly deadly weapon.

This time, Russia's plan to form a new composite army of various branches of service is also an important measure to enhance the overall strength of the Northern Fleet. From the perspective of mission scope, the group army mainly covers the northern border of Russia, with a focus on protecting the main military facilities in Murmansk, the home port of the Russian Northern Fleet. By integrating combat units with different attributes and weapons and equipment with different functions, it can strengthen coastal defense forces, marine corps and other units to carry out anti landing operations. At the same time, it has missile brigades and air defense brigades, and cooperates with the surface warships and nuclear submarines of the Northern Fleet to carry out joint and precise firepower strikes on long-range targets, enabling the Northern Fleet to have stronger combat and countermeasures capabilities, and thus better carry out various tasks.

Effectively enhancing the polar combat capability of the Russian military

Russia is an important country in the Arctic region, with a total northern route of over 3000 nautical miles, connecting the Barents Sea in western Russia and the Bering Strait in eastern Russia. It is the shortest route between Europe and Asia, as well as the shortest sea route between the Far East and the European part of Russia. In order to protect the interests of the Arctic region and strengthen military strength, Russia has established a joint strategic command headquarters of the Northern Fleet at the military district level, taking over the territory and military units divided from the Western Military District, and establishing a cluster of Arctic forces. It has also drawn reinforcements from the Central Military District and the Eastern Military District located in the Arctic region. For example, Russia has incorporated the 14th Army Group, consisting of the 80th and 200th Brigades, into the coastal defense forces of the Northern Fleet. These units can use reindeer and dog sled maneuvers to carry out combat tasks on snowboards and possess strong polar combat skills. In addition, in order to enhance the defense capabilities of the Arctic region, the Russian military has deployed shore based missile systems such as "ball" and "fortress" as well as various air defense systems in the upper Arctic archipelago. More intelligence and reconnaissance forces have been deployed in the Arctic archipelago and coastline, and many nearby polar airports have been rebuilt. The Russian air force has also increased its deployment and patrol flights in the Arctic direction, strengthening monitoring of all Arctic routes.

In addition to strengthening military deployment in the Arctic region, the Russian military also regularly conducts military exercises in the region, including mobilizing troops from other regions to the Arctic, conducting special training and practical simulations in the Arctic region, and conducting scientific investigations and research on the polar environment to ensure rapid response to potential threats and emergencies. For example, in last year's "White Bear" exercise, the Russian Pacific Fleet's "Omsk" and "Novosibirsk" missile submarines launched "Granite" and "Agate" anti-ship cruise missiles from the Chukotka Sea in an upward position to cooperate with military exercises in the Arctic region. The "Magadan" nuclear submarine entered the Pacific along the North Sea route and successfully hit a target ship 400 kilometers away. It is reported that in the future, the Northern Fleet is likely to balance the North Atlantic and Arctic regions, and its military exercise scope will continue to expand.

This time, Russia has decided to form a new composite group army of various branches in the Northern Fleet, in order to improve the Russian military's ability to fight under polar conditions. For example, the group army not only focuses on the cold and warm insulation of soldier clothing, but also considers the adaptability of military equipment to low temperatures. The main battle tank selected is the T-80 tank, which uses gas turbines. In extremely cold conditions, the engine is not easy to freeze and can start quickly. There are also some all terrain vehicles that can travel normally on ice or through muddy roads. At the same time, they are equipped with medium and short-range air defense missiles to provide firepower support to polar combat forces. These measures will help the Russian military enhance its combat and adaptation capabilities in polar environments, and achieve effective protection and control of the Arctic region.

The confrontation between Russia and NATO continues to escalate in the future

In recent years, the continuous eastward expansion of NATO has created a great sense of insecurity for Russia, especially the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, which has further worsened the relationship between Russia and NATO. At the same time, NATO has shown increasing interest in the Arctic region, such as the large-scale military exercise codenamed "Cold Reaction" held every two years in Norway. The latest exercise has exceeded 30000 people, more than 200 aircraft, and more than 50 ships. After the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Finland and Sweden, out of their own security concerns, gave up their neutral status and formally submitted their "accession" applications to NATO. In April 2023, Finland officially became a member of NATO, doubling the length of the border between NATO and Russia. However, with Sweden's accession in the future, the situation will become more complex, and the security situation in the Nordic region will undergo fundamental changes, which Russia did not expect.

Faced with complex geopolitical changes and evolving security situations, Russia has begun to further strengthen its military deployment in the northwest direction. According to Russian media reports, the Western Military Region of Russia is currently equipped with the 6th Army Group of Air Force and Air Defense Forces, including a mixed aviation division, several helicopter regiments, and an army aviation brigade. The group army also has two air defense divisions equipped with S-300 and S-400 air defense systems, which can protect Russian territory from Karelia to Voronezh. In fact, at the end of last year, Russian Defense Minister Shoigu announced that the size of the Russian military would increase to 1.5 million personnel and ordered the formation of a new field army in the Republic of Karelia, which would include three army infantry divisions and two airborne assault divisions. In addition, Russia has decided to form a new air force and air defense group army in the western strategic direction, consisting of several fighter aviation corps, bombing groups, army aviation brigades, air defense forces, and radio technology units, to counter potential security threats from NATO.

In fact, since the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the Russian Northern Fleet has also taken a series of military actions. For example, according to a report by the Norwegian intelligence agency, Russian Northern Fleet ships have recently begun carrying tactical nuclear weapons when going out to sea, which has never happened in more than 30 years since the end of the Cold War. Although during the Cold War, the Soviet Union's Northern Fleet also frequently carried nuclear weapons to sea, this practice was the first for Russia, indicating a significant shift in Russia's nuclear policy and a significant increase in the importance of nuclear weapons to Russia. It is not ruled out that the future conflict between Russia and Ukraine may escalate into a more widespread conflict.

This time, Russia has formed a new composite group army in the northern fleet, which is also an important measure to counter NATO forces in the northern direction. According to public information, the New Group Army will guard the northern border of Russia, including the borders with Finland and Norway, especially Finland's extremely important geopolitical regions such as the gateway from the Kola Peninsula to St. Petersburg, the narrow strip of the Gulf of Finland, and the Orlan Islands. The Kola Peninsula, where this region is located, is an important base for the Russian Northern Fleet and one of the main berths for Russian nuclear submarines. It plays a crucial role in Russia's interests and national security, and is also a new task that the New Group Army will undertake in the context of Finland and Sweden's accession to NATO. From the perspective of future development, in the face of NATO's eastward expansion and increasingly frequent military activities in the Arctic region, the newly formed composite group army of various branches will deploy mobile combat forces in more regions, cooperate with the northern fleet to launch strong counterattacks against NATO's military encirclement, blockade, and deterrence at any time. These will also exacerbate the tense relationship between Russia and NATO, and the level of confrontation between the two sides will further escalate.