MOSCOW, May 27 - RIA Novosti. Russian border guards are strengthening their capabilities to control the situation in the Arctic, including on the Northern Sea Route, and the intensity of the service of border patrol ships and patrol vessels is increasing annually, said First Deputy director – head of the Border Service of the FSB of Russia, Army General Vladimir Kulishov.
"We are consistently increasing our capabilities to monitor the situation in the Arctic region, including the Northern Sea Route," he stressed.
According to Kulishov, a system for monitoring and analyzing the situation in the Arctic seas and on the seashore has been formed, information about the state of which is received in real time to other interested state authorities.
"We regularly organize, conduct and take part in joint anti-terrorist and search and rescue exercises with other federal executive authorities. We accompany the development of the Northern Sea Route, participate in ensuring the safety of navigation along this transport corridor, exploration and exploitation of energy resources," the general added.
In order to monitor compliance with legal regimes by vessels engaged in fishing or other economic activities in the waters of the Arctic Ocean, the intensity of the service of Russian border patrol ships and patrol vessels in remote waters, including in the areas of the Svalbard Archipelago and the regulation of the NEAFC (Commission on Fisheries in the North-Eastern Atlantic Ocean) is increasing annually, the general added.
"In 2021, the total duration of patrolling by border patrol ships in the northern latitudes of the Arctic was 730 days, more than 170 flights of the FSB of Russia were carried out. 111 vessels were inspected, 90 violations of Russian environmental legislation were revealed," Kulishov said.
"Currently, the existing forces and means of the Coast Guard and aviation units of the FSB of Russia allow us to respond in a timely manner to emerging threats to the security of the Russian Federation in the Arctic region, take effective measures to neutralize them, and, if necessary, increase the intensity of border activities," the general stressed.
Modern technology
Kulishov spoke about equipping Russian border guards with modern means to control the situation.
"In 2021, the Coast Guard units received more than 40 units of naval personnel, which made it possible to increase the share of modern ships and boats to 67%... At the moment, 35 units of the ship's composition of various projects are under construction," he noted.
As for the equipment of the land section of the state border of the Russian Federation, seven new complexes of buildings and structures designed to accommodate units directly guarding the state border were put into operation last year. "The share of equipped sites has reached 70%, which corresponds to the target values of the indicator of the state of national security of the Russian Federation," Kulishov said.
The border authorities continue to be equipped with modern and promising weapons, including technical means of border protection based on various physical principles of operation, he added.
"The most widespread are mobile radar-optical systems for monitoring the situation, as well as searchlight stations and installations. The supplied technical means of border protection are not inferior in their tactical and technical characteristics, and in some parameters they surpass the best foreign analogues," Kulishov noted. According to him, in 2021, more than 880 such modern complexes were delivered to the border guards units.
"The staffing of border authorities with technical means has been brought to 80%, which provides the needs of engineering and technical cover for vulnerable areas, and also allows solving the tasks of creating additional security lines," the general stressed.
Currently, the border authorities are armed with various unmanned aircraft systems, as well as mobile tethered balloon complexes, Kulishov noted. Since last year, border guards have been using drones on sea routes, he noted.
According to him, with the use of drones, border guards solve the tasks of aerial reconnaissance and patrolling the terrain, guidance and correction of actions of ships (boats) and border guards to detain violators of the state border, as well as photo and video recording of evidence of their illegal activities.
"The introduction of drones into border activities makes it possible to plan more effectively the use of forces and means of border authorities. At the same time, the Border Service of the FSB of Russia is constantly searching for optimal ways to use them," Kulishov said.
