"Arctic shamrock" - the second unique residential complex of a closed cycle, built in the interests of the Northern Fleet in the high-latitude regions of the Arctic
FRANZ JOSEF LAND ARCHIPELAGO, May 17. /TASS/. Thirty journalists from the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, China, the United States, France and Japan were able to see for the first time the base "Arctic Shamrock" and a demonstration training of calculations of coastal missile systems "Bastion" on Franz Josef Land, reports TASS correspondent.
Major General Igor Churkin, Chief of Staff of the Air Force and Air Defense Army, told reporters that the military infrastructure has been deployed on remote islands and the Arctic coast since 2014. The administrative and residential complex was shown to correspondents of the BBC, the Associated Press, Agence France-Presse, CNN, ABC, Televisión Española, NHK, CDF, the Chinese TV channel "Phoenix", CCTV and NYT.
"Today it is the only capital construction facility in the world, built at the 80th degree of north latitude. Its area is more than 14 thousand square meters. The autonomy of the complex makes it possible to provide a fairly comfortable stay and performance of official duties for a group of military personnel up to 150 people for a year and a half," Churkin said. The construction was carried out for three years - from 2014 to 2017-using innovative and energy-efficient technologies to minimize energy consumption.
"The uniqueness of the complex also lies in the fact that it does not cause any damage to the environment. There is practically no heat radiation from it. It is as environmentally friendly as possible and operates in a closed cycle, with the exception, probably, of gorenje products, which are also filtered before being released into the atmosphere. This complex can be compared to a space station with the only difference that it is not in near-Earth orbit, but in the Arctic desert, " the army chief of staff stressed.
He said that the "Arctic Shamrock" is the second unique residential complex of a closed cycle, built in the interests of the Northern Fleet in the high-latitude regions of the Arctic. The first-at the 75th degree of north latitude - was built "Northern Clover" on the island of Kotelny in the archipelago of the Novosibirsk Islands.
The journalists were given a tour of the base, showed the places of residence of military personnel, a sauna, a canteen, a gym, medical offices with the possibility of telemedicine in the administrative and residential complex, as well as the radar station and the positions of the Bastion coastal complexes. As the commander of the 71st tactical (Arctic) group, Lieutenant Colonel Balabeg Eminov, said, this missile system proved to be effective in tests and during tactical exercises on the island zone in conditions of high latitudes and low temperatures.
