Russia's Arctic Group To Get Orlan-10 Drones By Year End

Before the end of the outgoing year the Orlan-10 drones will be delivered to a unit of the Eastern Military District in Chukotka, the district’s press service told TASS on Monday.
“The command staff and operators have completed training at the multiservice drone control center in the Moscow region. Before the end of the current year specialists with several Orlan-10 sets will arrive at the permanent service base - the Anadyr-Ugolny aerodrome,” a district official said.

According to him, the first trial flights of the drones in the low temperature conditions are planned in early 2015.

Next year it is planned to organise trial combat duty of the drone unit in Chukotka for objective terrain monitoring, drilling combat training tasks in the near maritime zone and performing flights in the area of stationing of the military district’s Arctic units on the Wrangel Island and Cape Otto Schmidt.

The drones will ensure sea navigation security and conduct coastal air reconnaissance over Russian territorial waters.

A combined Arctic strategic command went operational on December 1 in Russia's northernmost regions. The formation of the Arctic military command is part of Russia’s ongoing extensive program to build up its presence in the Arctic. 

Last March, President Vladimir Putin said that the armed forces’ training and development efforts should incorporate measures to increase the combat component of the Arctic group. The Defense Ministry has since made several steps along these lines. Russia’s Defense Ministry is going to build 13 airdromes and 10 radars in the Arctic.

Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said in late October that Russia will have full radar coverage of the Arctic region this year, while next year it will be ready “to meet unwanted guests” both from the north and from the east.

[via-itar-tass]