New major radar to be built at Russia’s northernmost point

According to news agency NGS24.ru, the facility is to be built in 33 months.

A tender on its development was recently announced by Rosgranstroy, the federal border development authority. The project is officially called «Radio-technical point Chelyuskin» and includes a cost frame of 1.2 billion rubles (€17 million).

The radar installation is classified as a military object and few details are known about the contract, NGS24 reports.

The tender appears not available at goszakupki.ru, the electronic resource for state contracts.

Cape Chelyuskin is the northernmost point on the Russian mainland. It is located on the coast of the Taymyr Peninsula, where the Vilkitsky Strait separates the mainland with the archipelago of Severnaya Zemlya.

Practically all shipping along the Northern Sea Route runs through the Strait and it is consequently considered a strategically key point in Russian Arctic development.

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An Arctic research station has been at Cape Chelyuskin since the early 1930s and up to ten people are today believed to work on site with meteorological studies. The center is operated by the Sevmeteo research institute.

The remote cape is also known for its air strip, which today is reported to be operated by the Ministry of Defense and is used only by helicopters.