Russian military group in Arctic to be reinforced by 2 regiments 2015

A naval air fighter and air defense missile regiments will reinforce the Russian military group in the Arctic by the end of 2015, Russian Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu said on Monday.

"At the moment efforts are in progress in this region (of the Arctic) to build up the air force and air defense group. There are plans for completing the formation of one ship-borne fighter aviation regiment and an air defense regiment by the end of the year," he said.

Shoigu explained that the Arctic force buildup stemmed from the development of the Northern Sea Route and the need for protecting the national interests in the region.

At the end of 2014 Russia formed a combined strategic command on the basis of the Northern Fleet. Situation monitoring and air defense units have already entered combat duty on some of the islands of the Arctic.
Source: Itar-Tass