You may recall few years ago I wrote about them:Icebreakers With Strategic Reach.Today, Russia launched first of them (this will be series) Ivan Papanin (after famous Soviet Polar explorer). Here is how 8,500 tons of displacement looked today. She (rather He) is a beauty (my hat off to guys from Airbase forum, via Admiralty Wharfs).
Ivan Papanin
Yet another step in Russia weaponizing ice-breakers (wink, wink). The so called Arctic Patrol Ship will carry helicopter, artillery complex, manpads and will be able to take on containers for notorious Kalibr missiles. A rather mighty package for escort, monitoring, rescue and, of course, strike functions. These ships are capable of breaking through 1.5 meters thick ice, which is very impressive. Two of them are under construction but rumor has it that the number will be significantly larger. First two are a test run for a concept as a whole. Follow-on ships may have some parameters tweaked as experience and data begins to flow in. Here is how they will look upon completion:
I guess this answers the question where Russia's attention is focused upon. After all, brand new Resonance (Rezonans-NE), over-the-horizon radar, was launched today at Novaya Zemlya (in Russian). This thing tracks and develops targeting against anything, including hypersonic weapons (up to M=20), I will omit here jokes about "stealth". My main question in this situation is this: what is the pay for officers who serve there, not to mention service ratio: is it one year as two plus insane pay rate? To the best of my knowledge there are no good bars or shopping malls there, but sure as hell there is a former nuclear testing ground. So, not exactly family-friendly place this Rogachevo is, especially when polar bears get a party going, but it is totally conceivable that eventually even there one will be able to buy a bottle of Jack without flying out to Arkhangelsk. Just a thought.
I don't buy for a second all those Russian-China economic "integrationism" arguments, despite obvious attempts by China and Russia to form some sort of common Eurasian market. Russia and China are neighbors and economic... competitors. But, right now many Russian-Chinese broad economic, social, scientific and military contacts make total sense in a face of unruly and ungovernable United States. In fact, those are only natural. Yet, there is one item on Russian-Chinese agenda which sets Russia apart from everyone else for China. As South China Morning Post notes in its opinion piece:
Pay attention to the highlighted, as well as rather realistic assessment by this very same South China Morning Post in this title of its other analytic piece.
A-ha, warmer now. In continuation of my yesterday's piece on competitiveness and a series of my articles on this issue (such as this one), I suggest to pull back a bit and try to take a look at a larger picture. No, I am not talking about a Huawei affair dominating current headlines all over the world, I am talking about things even more important than US-China trade war--I am talking about fundamental conditions which will allow China to win this war. But first let's talk about conditions which already now prevent China from winning such a war. I wrote also, not for once, about it--China is not competitive with the United States where it really matters, Shipping Lanes Of Communications (SLOCs), especially Indian Ocean SLOCs, which are crucial for China's trade. PLAN is simply not a competitor for US Navy in the open ocean. For now. When and IF (I stress it--IF) PLAN will be able to compete with the US Navy underneath the waves, until then the Arctic looms large, very large, for China's sea trade. If the United States, in the feat of desperation (it is possible, but who knows how probable) decides to cut China's Indian SLOCs before a bulk of Chinese trade is removed within Eurasian landmass, the whole Huawei affair will look like a fart in the hurricane.
The time is ticking away. Enter Russia, the issue here is not just Russia's massive, largest and most advanced ice-breaker fleet in the world, it is the fact that Russia develops her Arctic at a break-neck speed, developing both civilian and military infrastructure, including building fully operational airfields capable to base latest in Russian ASW/Patrol Aviation such as IL-38Ns and full blown Air Defense (S-400, S1, the works, a whole shebang) areas such as Kotelnyi Island, which pretty much explains what is Russia up to in terms of her capabilities in this very Arctic and why it will be almost impossible to rival those by anyone from USA to Canada, to China, not to speak of Norway. Considering also the way Russia treats her submarine forces, one may easily see that Northern Sea Route will be defended extremely well. So, there is very little, in fact zero, doubt that China is very interested in this route, because unlike in the Indian Ocean where US submarine forces may run rampant against China's marine commercial traffic and PLAN will have a hell of a time trying to do much about it, Arctic Route is a different game--friendly Russia is there and Russia's combat and patrol aviation, and submarine forces will be able to keep this SLOC opened for China, not for free, of course.
Add now also a purely geopolitical aspect here. China only now begins to experience what Russia has an unrivaled experience in--a serious stand-off against major power(s). Russia's game till now was huge militarily--from Ukraine, to Syria, to Arctic, to new weapons systems, Russia is in a kinetic mode non-stop. China is yet to make a full claim to real superpowerdom and for that she needs Russia and her immense military potential, capable to defend most of Eurasia against any attempt on Eurasian integration. China doesn't have such capability and so the dance between comrades Putin ans Xi continues. No, of course, both men have excellent relations which can be called friendship, but Putin knows damn well that China needs Russia now in a really big way, including this very important moral support factor, which can be described in boxing terms as old experienced trainer patting his new talented protege, title challenger, on the back before his fight with an intimidating champion and telling him: "Don't worry, son. You'll be OK". People who underestimate an immense importance of this moral support factor in international relations, they know very little about international relations. Enough to take a look at an insatiable American appetite for "high moral ground" and to be admired. Look what happened once this moral ground was lost--it is in a front of your eyes.
So, China can win only with Russia's help which is expressed apart from, already mentioned, moral support factor in being cooperative with China's supply lines and throwing around Russia's significant economic and immense military weight. China, unlike the United States, does have geopolitical currency "to buy" Russia. But as any seller who knows a real value of what he (or she) sells, Russia will ask a "fair" price and China will agree. The world now needs Russian-Chinese close cooperation and, possibly, some form of a formal alliance, while transitioning into new geopolitical and economic paradigm. But as never before, it becomes clear that two great cultures and empires are on the even footing vis-a-vis each-other, far from wet dreams by many Western "analysts" predicting for Russia a complex of "junior partner" in relations with China, when in reality it is Russia who went to hell and back in 20th and 21st century who has a well earned privilege to pass judgements on how China may come of age as a true superpower by means of facing off with her largest foe. But then again, did China even have options other than getting together with Russia whose energy and military power is and will continue to be one of the drivers of Chinese successful entrance into the ring with the United States for a real fight? I don't think so. After all, as Marx stated--the freedom is a comprehended necessity.
P.S. Meanwhile, the video of the assembly of the first serial SU-57s.
I am sure very many arm-chair aerospace "analysts" are about to make their "opinions" heard;))
Russia is a huge player in Arctic and Soviet/Russia's history there is one of incredible scientific effort, resilience, courage and of very real economics. Moreover, Russian fleet of icebreakers, both conventional and nuclear, is simply without rivals. In May 2016 Russian Navy ordered two Arctic patrol ice-breakers ("corvettes") of Project 23550. Today, the first of them, Ivan Papanin, was laid down at Admiralty Wharf in St. Petersburg. These ships will have a bizarre weapons' suite. In a classic Russian tradition of "you can not spoil the porridge with butter" (kashu maslom ne isportish), new ice-breakers will have 76-mm gun, machine guns and, of course, and you may have guessed it--they will be able to carry a notorious Kalibr complex, possibly both with land-attack and anti-shipping configuration.
These will displace 6000+ tons.
Here is the plaque:
The struggle for Arctic resources and the importance of Northern Sea Route will continue to grow and appearance of these ships seems to be a good response to a very dynamic situation. It will get interesting there in coming decades, especially with a development of Arctic Continental Shelf. If the experience of Cod Wars is any indicator (and it is) things may get nasty pretty fast even between allies, as HMS Diomede found out the hard-way when was rammed by Iceland's cannon boat Baldur.
HMS Diomede
Hopefully, things may get sorted out in a much more civilized manner, but it is always good to have a good anti-shipping missile complex just in case. Especially when one has to guard things of this nature:
In the end, there is always a threat of a Social Justice Warriors, aka Green Peace.
