Skip to main content

Eurasianet

Main Menu

  • Regions
  • Topics
  • Media
  • About
  • Search
  • Newsletter
  • русский
  • Support us
X

Caucasus

Armenia
Azerbaijan
Georgia

Central Asia

Kazakhstan
Kyrgyzstan
Tajikistan
Turkmenistan
Uzbekistan

Conflict Zones

Abkhazia
Nagorno Karabakh
South Ossetia
Transnistria

Eastern Europe

Belarus
Moldova
Russia
The Baltics
Ukraine

Eurasian Fringe

Afghanistan
China
EU
Iran
Mongolia
Turkey
United Kingdom
United States
X

Arts and Culture

Economy

Politics

Kazakhstan 2022 unrest
Kyrgyzstan 2020 unrest

Security

Society

American diplomats in Central Asia
Coronavirus
Student spotlight
X

Visual Stories

Audio
Video

Blogs

Tamada Tales
The Bug Pit

Podcasts

Expert Opinions
The Central Asianist
X
You can search using keywords to narrow down the list.

With New Deployment, Russia Aims at Air Dominance over Black Sea

Joshua Kucera Jul 18, 2016
image Turkey's TCG Tekirdağ patrol boat, taking part in Breeze 2016 exercises off the coast of Bulgaria (photo: The Bug Pit)

Russia has announced the deployment of more advanced air defense systems to Crimea, a move to protect the region from what one official called NATO's "air hooligans."

In August, the18th anti-aircraft missile regiment of the 31st Air Defense Division, based in Feodosia, will be equipped with Russia's top-of-the-line S-400 Triumf air defense system. It's yet a further buildup of Russia's defenses along its southwestern border against what it sees as a hostile western military threat in the Black Sea. This would complement Russia's system of land-based anti-ship missile defenses along the Black Sea, which already effectively let Russia control the surface of the sea. 

"Placing the S-400 air defense system on duty in Crimea effectively locks down the Crimean sky against any attack from the air. The very fact of the placement of this advanced air defense system in Crimea will keep honest all NATO aviation based in the Black Sea region," said Crimea's vice premier, Ruslan Balbek. 

The deployment is most likely directed against the United States as the only air force likely to threaten Crimea by air, said retired Colonel General Igor Maltsev, a former commander of Russia's air defense force. 

"What airborne weapons pose a threat to us at this operational theater? Saying that Bulgaria or Romania's air forces are a force to be reckoned with is out of question. Turkey will hardly ever consider sparking an overt conflict with Russia. I think, that the S-400 deployment to Crimea is meant to prevent the United States from staging any provocations" in the region, he said.

U.S. military officials have called attention to Russia's buildup of these sorts of systems in the Black Sea. “Russia has created a very dense pattern of ‘A2-AD,’ or anti-access and area denial. We need to be investing in those capabilities and capacities that allow us to enter into an A2-AD environment and to be able to reinforce," said General Philip Breedlove, former commander of U.S. forces in Europe, at a Senate hearing in March, where he referred to the need to "puncture" those defenses.  

The S-400 announcement was made as two simultaneous NATO naval drills take place in the Black Sea. More than 25 ships and 1,700 sailors from Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Turkey and Spain are taking part in Breeze 2016 off the coast of Burgas, Bulgaria. (Your correspondent happened to be in Burgas last week and managed to spot one participating ship, a Turkish patrol boat, pictured above.) And on Monday, the U.S., Ukraine, Turkey, and Romania started the confusingly similarly named Sea Breeze 2016 off the coast of Ukraine. At its recent summit, however, NATO put off a decision on creating some sort of permanent NATO naval structure in the Black Sea. 

In June, Russian President Vladimir Putin complained about the increased tempo of NATO military exercises around the Baltic and Black Seas. "We are being accused of carrying out some military activity. Where? In our own territory," Putin said. "In the meantime the ongoing events near our borders are regarded as something normal... All this is aimed at undermining military parity that took decades to establish."
 

Joshua Kucera is the Turkey/Caucasus editor at Eurasianet, and author of The Bug Pit.

Sign up for Eurasianet's free weekly newsletter. Support Eurasianet: Help keep our journalism open to all, and influenced by none.

Popular

Uzbekistan: At least 18 killed in unrest, police preventing journalists from working
Effective climate action in Central Asia requires tweaks in donor approaches – report
Jiahui Huang
Uzbekistan president backtracks on constitution to defuse Karakalpakstan tension

Eurasianet

  • About
  • Team
  • Contribute
  • Republishing
  • Privacy Policy
  • Corrections
  • Contact
Eurasianet © 2022