Russia will equip its Antarctic expedition with two new aircraft of the Il-114 type on a ski-wheel chassis for cargo and passenger transportation on the sixth continent. This issue is now being considered in the government, a source in the Cabinet told Izvestia, citing a document (available to Izvestia).
Between the operating stations and seasonal field bases, on average, 1500–2500 km. Only with the help of IL-114 it is possible to effectively deliver specialists and cargo. Also, the aircraft will be used for ice reconnaissance, aerial photography, geological and geophysical work from the air, evacuation flights, as well as search and rescue operations.
As of today, there are no Russian aircraft of their own in the Antarctic, so the Russian Federation is forced to rent special aircraft of the Basler type, confirms the head of the high-latitude expedition, the Barneo ice camp, a resident of the CSR expert club, Alexander Krasnoperov. The appearance of IL-114 should help the development of scientific activity.
The work of the Russian Antarctic Expedition and the High-Latitude Arctic Expedition is now provided by the ice-class research expedition vessels Mikhail Somov and Akademik Fedorov (built in 1975 and 1987), they are physically worn out and obsolete. To replace them, JSC “Admiralty Shipyards” has developed a project for a new research expedition vessel. It has already received a positive conclusion from the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping. JSC “Center for Shipbuilding and Ship Repair Technology” carried out an examination of the calculations of the labor intensity and cost of the project.
The cost of building a new research expedition ship for the needs of Roshydromet is 39.8 billion rubles. A source in the government told Izvestiya that a decision could be made in the near future to support the implementation of this project.
Read more in the exclusive Izvestia article:
“We need ships: how will the Russian Federation equip the Arctic and Antarctic expeditions”
Source: IZ
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
