The Russian Defense Ministry announced that new radar locators and fighter jets are to be sent to areas surrounding the Arctic Ocean.
Deputy Commander of Russian Aerospace Defence, Kirill Makarov, told news agency’s on Saturday, “we have been talking a lot about building up Russian power in the Arctic. The armed forces are superfluous here. We have new hardware deployed on the islands of the Arctic Ocean“.
As we’ve previously reported, tension between the West and Russia have been on the increase in recent months, and the latest move is likely to provoke the US, UK, and NATO allies.
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“It’s all being done for the Russian Federation to defend its interests across the country, and also promote its interests in the Arctic” Makarov explained.
Rt.com reports:
Russian military deploys surveillance drones in Arctic http://t.co/WHOTxFr6mf pic.twitter.com/hjykSTK0Ge
— RT (@RT_com) June 18, 2015
The announcement came days after Russia’s Takhion and Eleron-3 military drones started making reconnaissance and monitoring flights in the Arctic.
In March, large-scale military drills to test the readiness of Russia’s armed forces to counter challenges in the northern regions were launched. Some 38,000 troops, as well as dozens of ships and submarines, and over a hundred jets and choppers took part in the drills.
In April, Russian paratroopers made history by being the first ever to successfully land on a drifting block of ice in the Arctic Ocean. The troopers were also tasked with setting up a base very close to the North Pole.
