The strategic concept of the American plan for a large Arctic-Pacific "game"
Geostrategic tensions are developing at an incredibly fast pace in the Asia-Pacific region and its surroundings. A huge flagship economic and industrial world region at the same time turned into a grand conventional theater of operations between key and developing world superpowers, as well as regional superpowers, with dramatic differences in foreign policy and economic preferences.
The last, most significant and significant, military-political incident in this region was the arrival of the U.S. Navy destroyer USS “Lassen” in the South China Sea to the Spratly island archipelago, which crossed the 12-mile sea zone of Subi Reef, which is one of the territorial stumbling blocks between China on the one hand and the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, Taiwan and Brunei on the other. The situation was tense to the limit: the foreign affairs and military departments of the Celestial Empire reacted extremely sharply and quite reasonably to the unauthorized entry of an American ship fleet into the near sea zone of China’s strategic interests, even pointing out the possibility of an escalation of the conflict on the sea theater of the South China Sea, where, by the way, the Chinese Navy is in a slightly more advantageous position than in the Mariana Islands or the Indian Ocean.
From a global point of view, the maneuvering of the American destroyer Lassen does not change the strategic alignment of forces in this small region of Southeast Asia, but with a tactical and technical one is a very unpleasant and “harmful” incident, because as we know, the American destroyers of the class “Arley Burke ", In addition to the Idzhis IIC, they are equipped with a very powerful and productive sonar complex AN / SQQ-89 (V) 10, which is able to track a wide variety of underwater and surface objects, numerous in type and degree of noise Italic distances, including the far zone of acoustic illumination; and as you know, most Chinese atomic and diesel-electric submarines are not distinguished by a low degree of noise. In such conditions, even a single short-term pass of this destroyer will be able to provide the US Navy with a very detailed “picture” regarding the location and actions of the submarine component of the Chinese Navy, including even the acoustic sound of Chinese submarines for their simplified classification.
All the weaknesses of the Chinese Armed Forces, in the event of a military conflict with the "anti-Chinese bloc," we identified in our previous article; it is absolutely clear that if China is not supported by the Russian Federation and the CSTO, it will lose influence over all important sea transport routes that are located more than 1500 km from the coast of the Middle Kingdom.
“We do not have any opportunity to sit in the house”, because this problem has not only gone beyond the limits of the Asia-Pacific to the Indian Ocean, as shown by the Malabar-2015 US-Indian exercises, but in the near future it can also cover the Arctic that automatically unites the Russian Federation and China around a very difficult task - conditional control of the northern part of the Pacific Ocean, from which we are still far away. The “loss” of this part of the Pacific Ocean entails a huge reduction in the efficiency of the Russian Navy, and also seriously limits the ability to provide support for the Chinese Navy under the most unfavorable scenario.
US ambitions to dominate the North Pacific have been traced for several years. The initial impetus for shifting the priority operational-strategic direction of the US Navy to the northern part of the Pacific Ocean was undoubtedly the outbreak of the “Arctic race”, where the United States certainly did not want to miss its decent bank in the form of a solid territory of the continental shelf; but a little later, when China became a young and rapidly developing superpower in the APR, Washington saw a great many other positive aspects of the strategic nature of retaining control over this northern region, so now the United States more broadly appreciates the importance of the Bering Strait nautical doctrine.
In the winter of 2009, at the end of his reign, the Bush administration adopted a special adjustment for further actions of the US Armed Forces in the Arctic zone “NSPD 66 / HSPD 25”, which takes into account not only a serious increase in the underwater component and contingent of the US Navy in the Arctic seas and the Arctic Ocean, but and seal fighter patrol schedules aviation Air defense and air defense planes in the NORAD area of responsibility, as well as a more serious attitude to the training of surface combat crews for operations in the far north, which became a real curiosity for American sailors, because the location of the main naval bases on the Pacific and Atlantic coasts of the continental states caused lack of proper preparation for operations in the Arctic zone, which is why only American submariners - crews of SSBNs of the Ohio, Virginia, Los Angeles and Sea Wolf classes l prepared for the "Arctic race." But the Americans are well aware that they will never succeed in surpassing the Russian Navy on our “Arctic bastion” (as they call the Kug Northern Fleet in the Northern Seas), the focus is on the Bering Sea region, which is the main link in the interchangeability between the North and the Pacific Russian fleets; its blocking by anti-submarine means of the US Navy, in the event of an escalation of the conflict between the PRC and the "anti-Chinese bloc", can seriously delay the approach of the Northern Fleet’s MAPL, and the Pacific Fleet alone will not be able to make a significant contribution to supporting the Chinese Navy, in addition, there is a direct threat to cooperation the above fleets, which calls into question the security of our state in times of crisis.
The crews of the American SSBNs and MAPL, in contrast to the sailors of surface ships, have a fairly high experience in performing the most complex operations in arctic conditions; in the photo, sailors clear the ice envelope before cutting the most modern American MAPL SSN-21 "Sea Wolf", which rose in the Arctic ice in June 2015DEGREE OF THREAT AND ASSIMMETRIC RESPONSE TO THE NEW INFRASTRUCTURE OF THE US ARMY IN ALASKA
As you know, the US Department of Defense is ready to spend trillions of states on the implementation of its geostrategic ideas, and the question of domination in the Bering Sea makes it necessary to attract the maximum possible production resources and financial investments, because for the sufficient efficiency of the US Navy in the Bering Strait region, It is necessary to form a new full-fledged fleet with a powerful ship order directly on the coast of Alaska, which is now an absolutely unprepared field for STI. The construction of the most complex coastal infrastructure will take at least a dozen years, but according to US military experts, the game is worth it.
Already, the leadership of the state of Alaska, as well as the US Army Corps of Engineers, are examining the coast of the northern state for the deepest coastal sector for the possibility of basing warships of main classes (destroyer, missile cruiser, nuclear aircraft carrier). But at present, the port’s maximum depth is proud. Nome does not correspond to the draft of the main aircraft carriers of the American Nimitz class fleet (12,5 m), which indicates the need for artificial deepening of the seabed of this port. But it is absolutely not worthwhile to harbor the illusion that the Americans will lose precious years for the possibility of basing aircraft carriers, engaging in a significant deepening of this port. Everything is much simpler. The current port bottom in Nome, in fact, as in Port Clarence, is almost ready to create a powerful naval group of destroyers Arley Burke, cruisers Ticonderoga, littoral warships of the near-sea zone of class LCS and attack missile-artillery destroyers of the new generation "Zumwalt" ...., the group is very, very capable and will have outstanding abilities both in terms of air defense of the naval theater of operations, and in terms of delivering massed missile strikes with anti-ship and cruise missiles "Harpun" / "Tomahawk" with one modern anti-submarine patrols of the waters of the Bering Sea. Aviation cover will not be provided by deck aviation forces, but by powerful fighter wings based on the well-known Elmendorf-Richardson airbase, only 1000 km from Bering Strait, and aircraft carriers will perform more important combat operations in Southeast Asia or the Indian ocean, sly, is not it?
The largest airstrip of Anadyr Airport (3500х60 m), although adapted for use of any type of aircraft, its conversion into a full-fledged airbase will take several years, and the nearest full-fledged Yelizovo airbase is located more than 1500 km from the strait, which seriously increases the flying time of the fighter Air Defense Aviation, while the base in Elmendorf has been the most promising and technically sophisticated US Air Force in the North Pacific for several decades, with XNUM fighters deployed X-th generation F-5A and DRLO E-22C aircraft. It is logical to assume that it is the seaport and the airport of Anadyr that should become the main strategic objects for ensuring the security of the Northern Sea Route in the coming 3 years; but what to do before?
Link unobtrusive fighter 5-th generation F-22A "Raptor" on the runway of the airbase "Elmendorf-Richardson", AlaskaIn order to control the Bering Sea and the strait of the same name, a mixed naval strike force will be required, which should have a sufficiently balanced armament complex capable of carrying out air defense-anti-missile defense, anti-missile defense and anti-ship missions. Ships with advanced air defense systems are urgently needed in the Pacific Fleet, since both American and Japanese destroyers and the cruisers Arleigh Burke, Congo / Atago and Ticonderoga will soon be transferred to a completely new type of anti-ship armament, which will be based on the low-profile LRASM anti-ship missiles . Their arsenals can be limited only by the modification of the MK41 UVPU, and reach several hundred in one KUG. The ESR of these missiles does not exceed 0,08 m 2, because of which the reflection of their massive strike can be carried out exclusively by multichannel and productive CZRKs of the C-300FM, “Poliment-Redut”, “Shtil-1”, “Pantsir-M1” types, therefore a serious threat to The US Navy will be represented here by air defense frigates of the 22350 Ave. and corvettes of the 20385 Ave. up to 5-7 ships. Their actions should be supported by a couple of multipurpose anti-ship nuclear submarines of the 949A Antey Ave. and 885 Alyen Ave. Such a composition will not allow Americans to freely block the strait, which is strategically important for the Russian Navy.
With regards to aviation support, it should be said that the MiG-31BM, deployed on the a / b "Yelizovo", have higher speed parameters than the American fighter aircraft, and therefore are able to reach the necessary lines of patrolling in the Bering Sea as quickly as the American F- 22A with closer a / b "Elmendorf-Richardson". As a temporary air base, the runway of the regional airport Markovo in the Anadyr region can be used. The airport is removed only 800 km from the Bering Strait, and its length 2428 meters will allow the use of IL-76MD transport aircraft, as well as all types of tactical aircraft in any variant and purpose of the armament suspension. Su-35S will remain the main means for achieving air superiority over American aircraft in the Far East, a large range, super-maneuverability and the most powerful Irbis-E radar will be relevant for about a couple of decades, so Su-35С will continue to serve along with perspective aviation complex 5-th generation T-50 PAK-FA.
In light of the introduction of the LRASM anti-aircraft missile into the Ajis American and Japanese ship complexes, the air defense capabilities of the Pacific Fleet of the Pacific Fleet of Russia are not sufficient for independent action in the Asia-Pacific region, and the Pacific Fleet needs constant cover by naval aviation (Su-30CM , IL-38H, etc.) and further replenishment of the ship staff, for this reason, maintaining control over the Bering Strait solves the strategic task of the operational transfer of the CCG from the North Atlantic, the Arctic region to the APR to support and the Pacific Fleet, and the creation of additional naval base in Chukotka (Anadyr State) to set a higher combat capability of the Pacific Fleet with a clear dispersion of the various classes of ships and the lack of temporary operational voids in the seaside theater.
One of the important directions of strengthening the defense capacity of the Navy is the modernization of the coastal component. In this area in the Far East, serious progress is already taking place: literally every month, the coastal parts of the fleet are replenished with sets of the BKSRK “Bastion”, “Ball”. The batteries form an insurmountable 300-kilometer defense line against enemy ships, the batteries themselves are under the protection of dozens of C-300PS and C-400 Triumph divisions, which makes the entire Far East infrastructure reliably protected, while for domination in the middle and distant maritime zones, it will take about 10 more years to build multi-purpose ships of new projects, which even in a smaller proportion will be many times better than Japanese and American ships with the Aegis system (concerns such Rabli as X. NUMX “Flurry” or X. NUMX “Admiral Gorshkov”).
The recent restoration of the Arctic military base from WFP to Fr. The boiler room (Novosibirsk Islands), which began on the order of V. Putin, once again confirms that Russia has already provided for all options for the development of events. On this base, an entire link of anti-submarine Il-38H and other types of naval aviation can be placed, which can control the situation in the Chukchi Sea (the northern side of the Bering Strait), where the appearance of the MAPL of the US Navy and the operation of American strategic aviation are most likely.
The actions of any large surface KUG of the Russian Navy in the northern seas will be as limited as possible without specialized reinforced ice class ships, which, in addition to performing the functions of an icebreaker, are capable of transporting thousands of tons of logistical support for both its own composition of the KUG and the naval base to which This grouping holds the way. In the photo, reinforced sea transport of 20180TV ave. “Akademik Kovalev”. Its displacement corresponds to the class "destroyer", and avionics corresponds to the most advanced domestic developmentsMilitary base on about. The boiler room will not allow the US Armed Forces to retain control over the Bering Strait from the Chukchi Sea, and will also become a strategic point of material support for surface ships, submarines and aircraft of the Northern Fleet during long-distance Arctic campaigns.
The only question is only in the development of new combat and transport ships of the ice class, allowing fleets to carry out the entire list of Arctic tasks in virtually any meteorological conditions.
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