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Russian Navy tests ‘all-seeing’ camera in Arctic

The participation in the 18-day expedition to the Novaya Zemlya archipelago in the Arctic allowed Russian military specialists "to fully assess and confirm its advantages, in particular, its ability to detect and identify objects in complex weather conditions"

MOSCOW, April 16. /TASS/. The Russian Navy’s specialists tested the latest SWIR (short-wave infrared) camera capable of ‘seeing’ through the snow and camouflage during the recent ‘Umka’ Arctic drills, the press office of the Shvabe Group (within the state tech corporation Rostec) announced on Friday.

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"The spectrum of 0.9 to 1.7 micrometers, in which the camera operates, allows seeing camouflage coatings and camouflaged objects. It is also capable of locating laser sources and any thermal flashes, for example, gunshots, salvos and signals," the press office said.

The participation in the 18-day expedition to the Novaya Zemlya archipelago in the Arctic allowed Russian military specialists "to fully assess and confirm its advantages, in particular, its ability to detect and identify objects in complex weather conditions," it said.

Camera’s characteristics

The camera has been developed by specialists of the Orion Research and Production Association (part of the Shvabe Group). As the developers say, the SWIR camera can be used round the clock at low light levels and in extreme climate conditions. Its body is leak-tight and is highly protected against damage, dust and water, the press office said.

"In a perspective, our camera could be of interest for the Russian armed forces as the broad scope of its application includes providing security and exercising control of the situation overland and also rendering assistance in naval navigation," the press office quoted Orion Research and Production Association acting CEO Pavel Abramov as saying.

The ‘Umka-2021’ comprehensive Arctic expedition kicked off in the area of the Franz Josef Land archipelago, the Alexandra Land Island and the adjacent waters covered with continuous ice on March 20 and ended last week.

During the expedition, three Russian nuclear-powered submarines simultaneously surfaced from under the ice at a distance of up to 300 meters from each other for the first time in the Russian Navy’s history. Also, a pair of MiG-31 fighters flew over the North Pole with mid-air refueling.

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