Northern Fleet anti-submarine aircraft crews hold ice reconnaissance in the Arctic
© RIA Novosti. Aleksey Danichev

Northern Fleet anti-submarine aircraft crews hold ice reconnaissance in the Arctic

Northern Fleet anti-submarine aircraft crews have fulfilled their ice reconnaissance missions in the Arctic, Captain Second Class Andrei Luzik, acting chief of the Northern Fleet's press service, told RIA Novosti.

The data obtained from the reconnaissance will facilitate laying the routes and navigation for ships and vessels in the Arctic.

"The crew of two Tu-142 aircraft, from the air base of the 45th Air Force Army and Air Defense of the Northern Fleet, carried out tasks in polar latitudes aimed at revealing the ice conditions along the Northern Sea Route," he said. In total, the aircraft spent 12 hours in flight. Pilots took off and landed at Kipelovo airfield in the Vologda Region.

"Air navigation over the Arctic Ocean is more complicated due to the proximity of the Earth's magnetic pole, which results in high magnetic declination, magnetic anomalies and storms. They make radio wave propagation unstable, which affects radio contact and limits the use of electronic equipment on board," Luzik said.