The Russian Defense Ministry has released photos of its latest expedition in the Arctic where it is putting its state-of-the-art snow vehicles to the test.
According to the ministry, the snow and swamp-going vehicles are traveling from the village of Tiksi in the remote Russian Republic of Yakutia to the Kotelny Island in the Arctic.
Their 2,000-kilometer journey will take them through snow and ice over the Laptev Sea, where the current temperature is around -30 Celsius.
The vehicles are being tested to see if they can fully operate in extreme temperatures, blizzards, and snow.
"Army snowmobiles, crawler-transporters, framed and inflatable deployable rapid tents, equipment for estimating the thickness of ice, and cutting-edge water-purifying and distillation units" are among the equipment being used during the expedition.
Moscow has on multiple occasions stressed the significance of Russia’s role in the Arctic. In 2015, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a new maritime doctrine underlining his country’s role in the Northern sea route.
It is currently building a massive self-sustaining high-tech military stronghold in the vast frozen expanses of the northernmost reaches of the Arctic Circle.
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