READY FOR TODAY – EVOLVING FOR TOMORROW
Baltic Traffic
international trade transiting through the Baltic Sea. To reduce reliance on Russian energy, several states in the region are diversifying their sources; Poland in Szczecin and now Lithuania, as learned during Exercise ARRCADE Lightning 2017, have leased liquid natural gas( LNG) processing facilities in Klaipėda. The resultant emphasis on terrorism and maritime security has highlighted Baltic ports as a specific vulnerability.
LNG
The Threat
NATO has a number of reasons to be concerned about Russian activity in the region. In addition to Russia’ s Exercise Zapad 2017, a so-called“ snap” exercise in close proximity to the borders of Poland, the Baltic states are of equal concern as Russia previously used exercises to mask its incursion into eastern Ukraine in 2014 and reflects a technique used several times during the Cold War.
These exercises continue to demonstrate the heightening readiness of Russia’ s military, whilst testing the resolve of its Baltic neighbours. In October 2014 and again in 2016, Sweden conducted major hunts for unknown submarines, suspected to be Russian, off its coast.
Violations of airspace in the region are almost a daily occurrence. The USS Donald Cook’ s airspace was again violated two days after the Su-24 incident when a Ka-27 Helix, a maritime
SSK patrol helicopter, made seven low-level passes of the Donald Cook in international waters.
Concerns about regional maritime security are magnified by Russia’ s announced military modernisation program. The Russian Navy has produced several new classes of ships, many with advanced anti-ship cruise missiles. In addition to the build-up of forces along Russia’ s periphery, Moscow has significantly enhanced its military exclave in the province of Kaliningrad, investing in the S-400 integrated air defence system and Iskander surfaceto-surface missiles, which are capable of reaching well out into the Baltic Sea.
The build-up of Russia’ s conventional defensive capabilities in Kaliningrad complicates NATO’ s response capability to crises in the Baltic region. Russia deployed its Bastion coastal defence system into Kaliningrad in 2016, including the supersonic Onyx anti-ship missile with a range of 600 kilometres and two Buyan-class corvettes armed with Kalibr( SS-N-27 Sizzler) land attack cruise missiles( LACM).
S-400
Conclusion
The establishment of robust air defence networks, long-range missile systems and reinforced ground defence units give Moscow a material anti-access capability that will challenge NATO forces and, as Exercise ARRCADE Fusion 2017 demonstrated, has the potential to become more than just a distraction at sea.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Cdr John Payne is currently SO1 Maritime Plans in the G5 Branch at HQ Allied Rapid Reaction Corps.
Russian LCAC S-400
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