MURMANSK, August 3. /TASS/. Crews of the Northern Fleet’s Ilushin Il-38 anti-submarine aircraft surveyed the ice situation in the Arctic Ocean to lay out sea routes, the Fleet’s press service said on Friday.
"The pilots flew over the Barents, Kara and Laptev Seas, carrying out aerial reconnaissance of the ice fields," the press service said. "The obtained data will be used for more accurate laying out of routes in the Arctic zone, including for civil ships."
The Fleet’s two aircraft carried out the task, the press service added.
Flights in the high Arctic latitudes are affected by proximity of the Earth's magnetic pole and, thus, a large amount of magnetic declination. During the magnetic anomalies and magnetic storms radio waves become unstable. This impairs radio communications and limits use of on-board radio equipment.
Besides, flights over the Arctic are complicated by unstable weather conditions, monotony of the area with a small number of visual and radio landmarks.
"During such flights, pilots increase significantly the flight training level," the press service noted.
Earlier in the year, the "Atomflot" Company (nuclear fleet) reported a complicated ice situation in the Arctic. Due to the thick ice nuclear icebreakers extended the winter-spring navigation by almost a month. Summer navigation has just began at the Northern Sea Route for both Russian and foreign ships.