The Arctic state standards compliance test grounds in the Arkhangelsk Region can be used by the Defense Ministry, the region's Governor Igor Orlov said, TASS reported.

"The initiative drew the attention of a powerful participant in this process, the Russian Defense Ministry, which announced plans to create an Arctic research center in Arkhangelsk. This will be yet another organization that will accumulate knowledge for the tasks being tackled in the Arctic, so testing will be necessary," the news agency cited Mr Orlov as saying.

Two test grounds will be set up, one in Arkhangelsk and the other near the Pavlovskoye lead-zinc ore deposit on Novaya Zemlya.

"The test range itself is currently being discussed, and the organizational and technical solutions are being worked out. The Northern (Arctic) Federal University, Center for the Complex Development of the Arctic at the Russian Academy of Sciences, Defense Ministry's Center for Arctic Research, companies operating in the Arctic — they are all participants in the project and will use it; they want their investments to be effective," the governor explained.

The Arctic test range is intended for testing pilot equipment and materials, as well as food products and technological developments.