Russian Revives Soviet-Era Lab to Develop Special Weapons For Extreme Arctic Conditions

The Russian Military has reopened a Soviet-era specialist research facility built specifically to simulate the harsh temperatures and climates such as the Arctic, with the purpose of developing military equipment well optimised to being used in such conditions. The announcement was made on December 24th, with the Central Scientific Research Institute for Precision Machine Engineering headquartered near Moscow revealing that the laboratory had received state certification and would imminently begin its first tests. In a press release, the head of the scientific and technical centre at the Institute announced to this effect: “the certification is the final step towards restoring this unique technological capability that had been lost after the fall of the USSR,” further elaborating that some of the weapons which would be worked on imminently included rifles, grenade launchers and cannons and cannons which would be tested to operate at temperatures as low as minus 60 degrees. Russia’s capabilities for Arctic warfare are considered second to none, and the county has in recent years expanded its presence in the region drastically amid growing competition for resources with NATO powers such as Britain, Norway, Canada and the United States. Among the new weapons systems developed are advanced air defence systems such as the Pantsir-SA and TOR-M2DT, which have been deployed alongside a range of armaments including hypersonic tactical ballistic missiles, heavy interceptor aircraft and S-400 long ranged surface to air missile systems.