Part of Western, Central, Eastern military districts' forces to be attached to Arctic Strategic Command - source
MOSCOW. Nov 25 (Interfax-AVN) - The Joint Strategic Command, which is being formed in the Russian Arctic on the basis of the North Fleet, will be reinforced with manpower and hardware from the Western, Central and Eastern Military Districts stationed in circumpolar areas, a source in the Russian Defense Ministry told Interfax-AVN on Tuesday.
"Alongside the North Fleet, which currently belongs to the Western Military District, the new Strategic Command will be reinforced with military units from the Central and Eastern Military Districts which are tasked with ensuring security in the Arctic zone," the source said.
Part of the air force and air defense units stationed in the North will also be affiliated to the Joint Strategic Command in the Arctic, he continued. "The new command will control a number of airbases for which military airfields are being rapidly built in circumpolar areas, as well as air defense facilities," the source said.
Pantsir-S1 missile and artillery systems were put on duty on the Kotelny Island of the Novosibirsk archipelago this year, he said. "The deployment of intermediate and long-range air defense systems in this area has also been planned," the source said.