Russia reopens Soviet-era laboratory to test weapons in Arctic conditions

Russia has reopened a Soviet-era laboratory to test weapons in extreme Arctic conditions, the military-industrial company which will run the facility said on Thursday, amid a push by the Kremlin to beef up its defenses in the resource-rich region.

President Vladimir Putin has touted the Arctic as a vital region for Russian interests as climate change makes it more accessible, presiding over a buildup of military infrastructure and pushing to increase cargo volumes shipped via the Northern Sea Route across its northern flank.

For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.

The Central Scientific-Research Institute for Precision Machine Engineering, that makes weapons for Russia's military, said it had restored testing chambers to simulate extreme conditions. The chambers were closed after the Soviet breakup in 1991.

Simulated conditions include extreme heat, cold and wet weather.

Maintenance funding for the testing chambers dried up in the early 1990s and they had fallen into a state of disrepair, it said.

"Certification was the final technical stage in restoring the unique testing technology that was lost after the Soviet collapse and that was only owned by our institute," Sergei Karasev, a senior official at the center, said in a statement.

The facility can now test-fire small arms as well as special grenade launchers and small-cannon armaments at temperatures of between minus 60 and plus 60 degrees Celsius, the weapons maker, known as TsNIITochMash, said.

Read more:

Half of Russians sceptical about Kremlin critic Navalny's alleged poisoning - poll

Russia signs agreement to open naval base in Sudan

Russia can develop vaccine against any new coronavirus mutated strain: Top scientist