MOSCOW. March 13 (Interfax) - Russia will deploy extra air defense units in the Extreme North to ensure the safety of airspace over the Northern Sea Route, Russian Northern Fleet Commander Adm. Nikolai Yevmenov said.
"A new module military garrison in the Yakutian village of Tiksi has virtually been completed and is move-in ready. It will soon accommodate the personnel of a new Northern Fleet air defense unit intended to ensure security of airspace over the Northern Sea Route," Yevmenov said in an interview published in the Defense Ministry's official newspaper Krasnaya Zvezda.
This year, the Northern Fleet plans to reinforce its coastal troops with new Bal and Bastion anti-ship missile systems and its independent motorized infantry brigade with an Arctic version of the Tor-M2DT short-range air defense missile system, he said.
"This year we plan to complete rearming of the tank unit within our independent motorized infantry brigade with T-80BVM tanks, which are best adapted for Arctic conditions," Yevmenov said.
The Northern Fleet will receive new Borei- and Yasen-class submarines currently undergoing trials in the White Sea in 2019, Yevmenov said. "These are the Knyaz Vladimir strategic missile-carrying submarine and the Kazan multirole submarine," he said.