Russia has finished equipping six new military bases throughout the Arctic in a move to recreate the country's military presence to levels it had during the Cold War, Russian news agency Tass reports.
The six military bases are located throughout Russia and are placed on both the country's northern shore and on outlying Arctic islands. The locations are now fully equipped with the materials and amenities necessary for long-term deployments of soldiers to the region.
"According to the General Staff’s execution documents, the work for the deployment and equipment of six military bases on the Arctic islands and in the polar part of mainland Russia is completed," a source familiar with the militarization told Tass.
Now that the bases are complete, Moscow will begin moving "hundreds of Russian military servicemen" to the bases starting in 2016.
The equipped bases are at Nagurskoye, Rogachevo, Sredny Ostrov, Temp, Mys Shmidta, and Zyvozdny. The completion of these bases marks a major step towards Russia's overall goal of reopening and extending the military bases it once owned and operated throughout the Arctic during the Cold War.
In total, Moscow's plans involve the opening of ten Arctic search-and-rescue stations, 16 deep-water ports, 13 airfields, and 10 air-defense radar stations across its Arctic periphery.
Once completed, this construction will "permit the use of larger and more modern bombers" in the region, Mark Galeotti, a Russia expert at New York University, writes for The Moscow Times. "By 2025, the Arctic waters are to be patrolled by a squadron of next-generation stealthy PAK DA bombers."
The Arctic is set to become a geopolitical battleground in the future. The warming of the polar ice cap will likely reveal large untapped natural resources. The US estimates that about 15% of the world's remaining oil, up to 30% of its natural gas deposits, and about 20% of its liquefied natural gas are stored in the Arctic seabed.
Additionally, receding Arctic ice would enable faster global shipping routes.
By 2030, the WSJ notes, the Northern Sea Route will be passable to shipping for nine months a year. The route could cut down travel time between Europe and East Asia by as much as 60% compared to current routes through the Panama or Suez Canals.
The Canadian Air Force Is Looking to Buy Weaponized Drones
Canada is looking at buying its own weaponized drones, and internal documents tout the benefits of a controversial model used by the US Air Force.
American Reaper and Predator drones have dropped Hellfire missiles on terrorist targets all over the world for years, but Canada has kept its distance from the cutting-edge weapons — until recently.
A February 2015 Canadian ministerial briefing, obtained through Canada's Access to Information Act and classified as "Secret," offers a glimpse at how the upper echelons of the Department of National Defense view armed drones, which were known to be on the air force's shopping list.
The briefing argues "UAVs offer several advantages that manned aircraft cannot provide," and are an "economical" technology. Namely, the briefing compares current Canadian aircraft, including fighters carrying missiles and bombs, with drones used by the US Air Force for its top secret operations.
Excerpt of ministerial briefing obtained by VICE News.
"In addition, UAVs can also be fitted with weapons or other stores to provide a range of effects. For example, after providing Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance [ISR] for hours above the battlefield, UAVs would be positioned to provide an immediate precision strike in support of ground forces on a deployed operation," the briefing explains.
But the specter of new conflicts away from the Middle East might be a driving force behind the ultimate procurement of UAVs for Canada. The briefing also outlined the need to procure drones with not only "survivability, lethality, and flexibility" but ones that are able to operate in harsh Arctic air, noting that the remote and austere environment raises "significant difficulties".
Scientists at Defense Research and Development Canada, a government agency, have already begun investigating the potential for unmanned robotics to support troop operations in the Arctic, given the region's geopolitical importance and its northern neighbor.
It is no secret Russian President Vladimir Putin values the Arctic region as a strategic region for future resource extraction. To support those plans, Putin has commissioned an Arctic drone base in nearby Siberia. Meanwhile, Russian heavy bombers have flown provocatively near Canadian airspace in a tit-for-tat standoff with Canada over Arctic borders.
Recent provocations aside, both the Arctic and armed drones are on the radars of Canadian policymakers as the search for a new drone fleet continues.
"The General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper can remain aloft for over 27 hours compared to a maximum of 17 hours for CP-140 Aurora or less than 3 hours for a CF-18 Hornet — UAVs provide a sustained presence over an area," says the briefing. The Aurora is a long-range patrol and surveillance aircraft, while the Hornet is the fighter-bomber Canada uses in its current airstrikes against the Islamic State.
Blue Oyster Cult - Don't Fear the Reaper (1976)