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The exercises involve several dozen warships
and support ships. Moreover, the Northern and
Black Sea fleets have contributed their largest
and most powerful warships - the Pyotr Veliky
(Peter the Great) and Moskva guided missile cruisers,
respectively.
Naval forces are carrying out simulated combat
missions, including anti-submarine warfare (ASW),
attacks on warships, repelling a simulated amphibious
landing and supporting its own amphibious-landing
operation aimed at seizing an enemy beachhead.
The Navy is also practicing cooperation with
Air Force units to repel simulated air strikes.
The Vostok-2010 military exercises differ from
previous exercises in that they prioritized humanitarian
and peacekeeping missions.
The Navy has always ranked among the most expensive
and hi-tech branches of the military. Moreover,
it sometimes takes decades to build up large battle-worthy
naval formations - the longest cycle of any branch.
Mistakes in naval development are extremely expensive,
because it can take the lifespan of one or two
generations to correct them.
What role will the Russian Navy play in the restructured
Armed Forces? How will the Navy look after these
extensive military reforms are complete?
Although top political and military leaders say
the Navy plays an important role in Russia's Armed
Forces, it is obvious that the amount of warship
construction and deadlines for projects directly
depend on the country's economic potential.
Considering the high cost of building capital
warships, their numbers are likely to be limited
in the next few decades. Russia will have to strengthen
its Navy in some other way if it hopes to be able
to deal with the superior forces of a potential
enemy.
The prompt re-deployment of capital warships
from one remote theater of war to another, called
inter-theater maneuvers, is becoming a key element
of this strategy. These maneuvers are one element
of the Vostok-2010 exercises.
By combining the potential of a few hard-hitting
weapons systems, such re-deployment can expand
task-force potential many times over. This time,
the Navy has established a unit comprising two
guided missile cruisers and three anti-submarine
warfare ships. Objectively speaking, the Pyotr
Veliky and Moskva cruisers wield extremely powerful
air-defense weaponry matching the capabilities
of U.S. Navy and Japanese Maritime Self-Defense
Force warships equipped with Aegis combat systems.
Both Russian cruisers have unprecedented strike
potential and are equipped with heavy supersonic
cruise missiles, a trademark of the Soviet/Russian
Navy.
The Pacific Fleet's Varyag guided missile cruiser,
now returning from a trip to the United States,
could also be included in this unit, enhancing
its potential still further. By cooperating with
other Pacific Fleet elements and air force planes,
the unit could engage even the most formidable
adversary.
It is hardly surprising that such exercises are
conducted on the Pacific theater of war, as this
region is and will remain one of the most conflict-prone
areas for Russia in the next 20-30 years.
Russian-Japanese disagreements over the disputed
South Kuril archipelago, called the "Northern
Territories" by Tokyo, and Russia's proximity
to a powerful China prompt Moscow to find new
ways to defend its Far East possessions in the
event of a hypothetical conflict.
What will the Navy look like after most of the
aging Soviet-era ships are decommissioned within
the next 15-20 years?
The state rearmament program for 2011-2020, which
is currently under development, stipulates at
least 13 trillion rubles ($418 billion) worth
of federal-budget funding. If adopted, the program
will not facilitate the Navy's large-scale modernization.
In that case, a joint military/civilian shipbuilding
program will make it possible to expand the Navy.
Although the program's allocations remain unclear,
senior defense-industry officials say they will
meet minimal naval requirements.
Such requirements are currently as follows: The
Navy should be able to defend Russia's coastline
from sea attacks, facilitate the operation of
the Navy's strategic nuclear forces, support ground-force
operations in maritime regions and be able to
conduct limited operations in remote sectors of
the global ocean.
For these purposes, the Navy should receive warships
of all the main classes, including corvettes and
destroyers. It should be noted that modern destroyers
pack the same devastating punch as guided missile
cruisers.
Moreover, the Navy should have large submarine
and aircraft formations, as well as coastal-defense
and marine units. Analysts say at least 60 main-class
ships, including submarines of all classes, corvettes,
destroyers and other capital warships, not to
mention speed boats and support ships, should
be built within the next 20 years.
Under a more optimistic scenario, the Navy would
receive even more ships, including aircraft carriers.
The experience of the world's leading navies shows
that carrier-borne planes and helicopters considerably
expand the potential of task forces, turning the
Navy into a truly flexible, multi-role and multi-faceted
service capable of accomplishing even the most
difficult combat missions.
If the Pacific Fleet received just one aircraft
carrier with 30-40 warplanes onboard, it would
be able to accomplish far more objectives together
with available navy elements in case of a hypothetical
conflict over the Kuril archipelago and southern
Sakhalin.
Moreover, it would be able to more effectively
conduct detached operations in remote parts of
the global ocean. A combined force consisting
of an aircraft carrier, other warships and Mistral-class
amphibious assault ships could accomplish just
about any objective, including the disengagement
of belligerents on a coastal theater of war and
engaging the Navy of a theoretical enemy.
No matter how expensive the Navy, weapons systems
capable of repelling naval strikes would cost
even more.
(RIA Novosti)
The writer is a military
affairs commentator.
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