10,000 military personnel took part in exercises to protect the Northern Sea Route

In the waters of the Chukotka and Bering seas and in Chukotka, a tactical exercise of the forces of the Pacific Fleet “Finval-2023” is taking place to protect the communications of the Northern Sea Route (NSR). About 10,000 military personnel and over 50 pieces of equipment are taking part in the exercise, reported Russian Ministry of Defense.

“About 10,000 military personnel and more than 50 units of military equipment are taking part in the tactical exercise, including surface ships and support vessels, submarines, naval aircraft and helicopters, coastal missile systems “Bal” and “Bastion”, as well as wheeled and cross-country tracked armored vehicles,” the statement says.

As part of the exercises, the guards missile cruiser “Varyag”, the nuclear submarine “Tomsk” and “Bastion” fired cruise missiles “Vulcan”, “Granit” and “Oniks” at a group of mock enemy ships in the Bering Sea, located hundreds of kilometers away. In addition, maneuvers are carried out in anti-aircraft, anti-submarine and anti-landing defense, marching on vehicles in the Arctic off-road, etc.

The exercise is led by Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy Nikolai Evmenov.

Earlier in August, the Russian Northern Fleet conducted a command and staff training, during which various options for managing fleet forces and troops while protecting the Northern Sea Route were tested.

Northern Sea Route with a length of 5600 km runs from Murmansk to Vladivostok along the Russian coast of the Arctic and Pacific oceans. Navigation in the eastern sector of the Northern Sea Route (from Taimyr to the Bering Strait) in winter is impossible without icebreaker assistance; the ice thickness there reaches 3 m. In 2021, cargo traffic on the NSR amounted to 34.9 million tons. From 2019 to 2021, the number of flights increased from 799 to 1627 per year, and cargo traffic increased by 11%. In 2022, 34 million tons of cargo were transported along the NSR.

Last year, the government approved a plan for the development of the Northern Sea Route until 2035. The plan includes 150 activities, which are included in five key sections: cargo base, transport infrastructure, cargo and icebreaker fleet, safety of navigation along the Northern Sea Route, as well as management and development of shipping along the Northern Sea Route . 1.8 trillion rubles have been allocated for the implementation of the plan.