Russian Navy must be present in all crucial world oceans - Commander

12.02.2009 Source: en.rian.ru
Translation: RusNavy.com Photo: V.Vysotskiy, the commander of the Russian Navy (source: www.gazeta.ru)

The main goal underpinning the actions of the Russian Navy is to provide strategic deterrence in order to make sure no country threatens Russia and its allies, said Admiral Vladimir Vysotskiy, the commander of the Russian Navy.

"The basic form of use of the Navy in peacetime is its presence in extremely important regions to carry out tasks related to military-naval activities," Admiral Vysotskiy told Krasnaya Zvezda, a military publication, in an interview published on Wednesday.

He stressed that to realize and defend its interests in world oceans, Russia is prepared to use its navy in three instances: In peacetime, during crises, when there are threats, and in times of war.

"The Russian Navy is present in strategically important parts of world's oceans and the continental areas abutting them that are not under the national jurisdiction to create favorable conditions to realize the priorities of its foreign, economic, and other activities," the admiral said.

When crises arise, the strategic goals that underpin the use of the navy remain topical. "In wartime, the strategic goal of the Navy is to be involved in the actions of Russian armed forces and those of its allies, including with the use of nonstrategic and strategic nuclear arms," Vysotskiy said.

"In the technical upgrading and development of the Russian Navy, the focus is on strategic missile submarines, multipurpose submarines, universal surface battleships, reconnaissance and target-location systems, tactical control, and navigation," Vysotskiy added.

Today the Russian Navy is focusing on the development of new-generation strategic submarines of the Yuri Dolgoruky type, the modernization and upgrading of the ships already in its possession, on outfitting them with a new generation of missiles, on multipurpose submarines of the Severomorsk type, and surface ships with high capabilities equipped with high-precision missiles and antisubmarine weapons, and the mastering of world oceans as a possible theater of war through the creation and development of a joint information-gathering system on the situation in world oceans.

"Based on the mission of the Russian Navy, I note that in peacetime it is used primarily as a standby force, in patrols, and in the realization of separate and special tasks," Vysotskiy said.

Therefore, the year 2009 will be no less tense than the year 2008 for the Russian Navy, Vysotskiy added.

"When the ships and crews of the Russian Navy carried out missions in various parts of world oceans, they officially and unofficially visited ports in many countries, including Venezuela, Cuba, Panama, Nicaragua, Syria, Portugal, Norway, Turkey, Japan, China, and the Republic of Korea. The Russian Navy will for the first time be engaged in international exercises, in missions to distant seas, and Fleet exercises," the admiral said.