Russian President Vladimir Putin reviews the fleet near St. Petersburg (Kremlin handout)
On Sunday, Russia’s Navy Day, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a revised naval doctrine which recognizes the United States as the primary threat to Russian maritime ambitions.
The document describes “the strategic policy of the U.S. to dominate the world’s oceans” as a major threat to Russian interests. The claim has an element of truth: American naval doctrine does incorporate the Mahanian objective of global “command of the sea,” and the U.S. 2020 Tri-Service Maritime Strategy revives this time-honored doctrine with “a renewed emphasis on sea control.” In addition to de facto sea control in most regions, the U.S. has an 80-year track record of countering Russian naval power- as demonstrated by the sinking of the Moskva, which was aidedby U.S. battlefield intelligence.
America’s naval doctrine also recognizes Russia as a near-peer competitor. The Tri-Maritime Strategy identifies the Russian military’s “increasingly aggressive behavior” and “increasing sophistication,” but ranks the Russian threat insecond place, behind China. The U.S. Navy considers China’s PLA Navy and its surrogates to be “the most pressing, long-term strategic threat” to U.S. maritime interests.
Putin’s newly-signed doctrinealso emphasizes shipbuilding infrastructure in the Russian far east; sustaining Russian control over the Northern Sea Route; maintaining the Russian naval presence in the Mediterranean; and starting a new ferry service to Kaliningrad to improve its commerce with contiguous Russia.
At the signing ceremony, Putin also said that the Russian Navy will be taking delivery of its new Zircon hypersonic missiles within a few months’ time. The Zircon is a maneuvering hypersonic anti-ship cruise missile, and its extreme speed (Mach 8) and low-observable characteristics are believed to pose a potent threat. It has been test-fired from the frigate Admiral Gorshkov and from the attack sub Severodvinsk, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense.
