Russia set to develop sonar system to help defend its Arctic regions
© RIA Novosti. Mikhail Fomichev

Russia set to develop sonar system to help defend its Arctic regions

The Russian defense industry is developing a sonar system for controlling the country's territorial waters in the Arctic, Izvestia  reports. A Defense Ministry source told the newspaper that the new system will be able to spot "enemy" ships and submarines hundreds of kilometers away.

"The new system's design is currently being finalized. The project is to be completed next year, and we'll start deploying it after it is approved by the Defense Ministry," the source noted.

The source said nothing about specific project deadlines and did not mention possible locations. But the source explained that a fully operational system could control a sector with an area of several hundred square kilometers.

According to the newspaper, Kometa Corporation, a manufacturer of special-purpose space systems, is the main contractor. The corporation, which recently became affiliated with the Almaz-Antey Aerospace Defense Concern, is cooperating with several dozen defense industry companies on the project.

"This task is difficult. We need to establish marine, space and ground contours. The marine contour features sonar buoys and underwater sensors that can update conditions and relay data to satellites. The ground contour features a control system that will analyze incoming data and provide it to users," the Defense Ministry source said.