Expansion of Russia’s Prime Arctic Airbase Could Soon Support MiG-31K and Su-34 Jets For Long Range Strike Missions

Recent satellite imagery has shown that Russia’s armed forces have significantly extended the runway at Nagurskoye Airbase - the Air Force’s leading facility in the Arctic region located furthest north. Expansion follows an announcement earlier in the year that the facility is now operating all year around, and comes at a time when the country is investing heavily in strengthening its military presence in the region with deployment of a number of advanced new weapons systems specifically tailored on aerial warfare and strike operations. Among the new weapons systems deployed to operate in the theatre have been Pantsir, Tor and S-400 air defence systems, MiG-31 Foxhound interceptors and MiG-31K strike platforms armed with hypersonic ballistic missiles. The runway is thought to have been extended to around 11,500 feet, from a prior length of around 8,200 ft, which will open up several new capabilities for operations in the Arctic theatre

The new length of the runway at Nagurskoye will allow it to comfortably deploy any aircraft in the Russian inventory up to and including heavyweight strategic bombers such as the Tu-160 and Tu-95. However, while the airbase was originally built to house strategic bombers for operations against North America in the early 1950s, the range of modern bombers means that they do not need to deploy from bases anywhere near as far north for such strategic operations. It is more likely that the new facilities will house aircraft for theatre operations - namely more MiG-31 jets for both strike and interceptor operations and possibly heavyweight Su-34 strike fighters. It has been reported that a MiG-31 unit could be permanently deployed to the base, and expansion and refurbishment of facilities there makes the possibility that combat aircraft will actually be permanently stationed there quite likely. Specially heated hangers are reportedly being constructed for combat jets and for Il-78 aerial tankers which can extend the range of any combat aircraft operating nearby. Su-34 strike fighters will also reportedly carry out a rotational deployment to the base.

The MiG-31BSM and MiG-31K are currently considered Russia’s most capable aircraft in air to air and strike roles respectively, and both benefit from very large and powerful radars, high suitability for extreme climates and an exceptionally high endurance, speed and operational altitude. The presence of tankers for refuelling could also allow other Russian combat aircraft such as the Su-30SM fighter or Tu-22M3M tactical bomber to very quickly reinforce forces in the Arctic in the event of conflict, with a few minutes for aerial refuelling above Nagurskoye allowing these aircraft to enter battle with fuller fuel tanks. Greater investment in the airbase as a hub of operations in the Arctic theatre are expected to be followed by signs of a a strengthening air defence capability - possibly including deployment of high end systems such as the S-300V4 and BuK-M3 for protection against air and missile attacks. Russia has also invested in constructing new airfields elsewhere in the Arctic region, although not as far north as Nagurskoye, and in refurbishment of existing facilities most of which were built during the Soviet era.