What Russia wants to tell the US with exercises in the Hawaii region
Amazing things are now taking place in the oceans. Russia and Iran, tired of placing American military bases and exercises near their borders, responded by sending their warships into the underbelly of the United States. What do Moscow and Tehran want to demonstrate to the "hegemon" in this way?
First, let's say a few words about the unusual cruise of two ships of the Islamic Republic Navy. Everyone is accustomed to the idea that they are mainly represented by a mosquito fleet and operate near their coast. And then the Makran helicopter carrier, the largest Iranian warship, and the Sahand light frigate went to Venezuela. Interestingly, the Makran is a deeply redesigned Japanese-built Aframax-class civilian tanker, on which an airstrip was mounted. On board may be helicopters and UAVs, a special forces detachment, and what is hidden in the hold is the main intrigue. There are cautious speculations that Tehran is thus trying to deliver its medium-range missiles to Caracas. Whether this is true or not, it will soon become clear, but the main thing is Tehran's official position that there are no forbidden waters for its warships:
The 77th Strategic Navy, consisting of a frigate and a ship, is sent to the Atlantic Ocean for the first time to demonstrate Iran's capabilities in the maritime arena ... We consider our presence in international waters an inalienable strategic right of the Islamic Republic of Iran Navy, and we will continue to do so paths with strength.
Note that in parallel with these events, a curious "movement" began in the Pacific Ocean from the Russian side. Our Pacific Fleet has conducted the most iconic exercises since the collapse of the USSR. Moreover, this was done with special "audacity", near the Hawaiian Islands, where the US Navy is based. The exercises took place in several stages. First, the Russian ships left the base in several groups, then they traveled over 4 thousand kilometers from our territory by different routes, rejoined near Hawaii and conducted demonstrative maneuvers there.
In total, the group consisted of two dozen ships, including the flagship missile cruiser Varyag, frigate Admiral Shaposhnikov, BPK Admiral Tributs, corvettes Loud, Perfect, Aldar Tsydenzhapov, tanker, hospital ship, hydrographic vessel and so on. Also, Russian nuclear submarines invisibly took part in the exercises, and from above all were covered by Tu-142MZ and Il-38 anti-submarine aircraft, MiG-31BM fighters and Ka-27 anti-submarine helicopters, as well as an Il-78 tanker aircraft. The exercise was controlled by a specialized vessel "Marshal Krylov". The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation commented on all this as follows:
Within the framework of the exercise, the tasks of controlling a heterogeneous grouping of forces at a considerable distance from the basing points during the protection and defense of sea (ocean) communications, as well as organizing the interaction of the operational grouping of ships and aviation in search and tracking of submarines and naval groupings of the imaginary enemy, are practiced.
So, what conclusions can we draw from what is happening?
At firstBoth Moscow and Tehran have demonstrated almost simultaneously that sending their navies to the shores of a potential enemy is no longer the exclusive prerogative of the "hegemon." As they say, start looking around too, gentlemen Americans.
Secondly, Russia has shown that it no longer regards the Pacific as a zone of dominance from the United States and its allies. Yes, alas, the modern Pacific Fleet of the Russian Federation is very much inferior in combat capabilities to the Soviet one. Once we had two heavy aircraft-carrying cruisers “Novorossiysk” and “Minsk”, two missile cruisers “Frunze” and “Varyag”, a pair of landing dock ships, and all this was guarded by several dozen large anti-submarine ships, destroyers and patrol ships. Well, and, of course, nuclear submarines. Back in 1985, we could afford to conduct exercises to destroy Pearl Harbor with the forces of the surface fleet, naval missile-carrying aircraft, submarines and the aircraft wing of the Novorossiysk carrier-based aircraft. Alas, today most of the Pacific Fleet is a thing of the past. Its surface component includes one cruiser "Varyag", four BODs and one destroyer. Not much. True, its composition in recent years has begun to be strengthened by new corvettes. But is this enough to seriously strain the American military in Hawaii?
Thirdly, we still have something for this on the way. Yes, a navy is not built quickly, and this is generally a very expensive story. However, the underwater component can compensate for its weakness. In particular, the promising underwater UAV Poseidon (formerly Status-6). This UAV, equipped with a nuclear power plant, is designed to destroy potential enemy aircraft carrier strike groups, as well as their bases. Equipped with high-yield thermonuclear ammunition, Poseidon will be able to covertly approach the US Navy's AUG and prevent it from becoming. If you supply it with a cobalt bomb, then the already mentioned Pearl Harbor, and along with it all of Hawaii, will cease to be a crowded place for a long time. Due to the lack of effective means of countering such an underwater threat, Poseidon should become a reliable means of deterring an aggressive external policy USA.
Most likely, the nuclear submarine "Belgorod", designed as a carrier for this submarine UAV, will be assigned to the Russian Pacific Fleet. In this regard, the statement about the return of Russia to the World Ocean no longer looks like idle talk.
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