MOSCOW, April 23. /TASS/. By using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and amphibious all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) Yakutia may optimize the Northern Supplies costs, the region's First Deputy Minister for the Development of the Arctic and the Affairs of the Peoples of the North Sergey Neustroev told TASS.

In Yakutia, cargo delivery term to some Arctic territories may be as long as three years. Large stocks are stored for a long period of time at deposit stations along the route to consumers.

"In 2025, we plan to initiate research and development work on the use of unmanned vehicles and amphibious all-terrain vehicles in Arctic conditions," the official told the 9th International Arctic Summit - The Arctic: Prospects, Innovations and Regional Development. "Presently, communications between districts may work only during the short winter period. We believe that the new transport infrastructure with extended or year-round operation will cut the cost of cargo delivery to the northern and Arctic districts."

Amphibious and all-terrain vehicles may use "straightforward" routes, he continued. "Thus, we will cut significantly the cost of storing seasonal stocks, and consequently will cut fees for loans to purchase goods delivered to the Far North," he said.

The region "is interested in multifunctional all-terrain, innovative unmanned medium-capacity vehicles," he added. "For sparsely populated settlements in the Arctic, drones with a payload over 300 kg are most economically suitable to deliver food products."

Northern Supplies in Yakutia

Traditionally, Yakutia uses water, land and air transport to supply food products. The operator -the Arctic Trade and Logistics Company - delivers socially important goods year-round to remote and hard-to-reach settlements.

During the Arctic river navigation, the company uses its own fleet of five vessels, including four river-sea class vessels. In the off-season, the company contracts small aircraft, and in winter it uses own and contracted vehicles.

"We hope to use in the future opportunities of the Northern Sea Route, we hope for coastal transportation options. The limiting factors are, first of all, relatively small volumes of food products - some 40-45 thousand tons. Other factors are the limited river navigation and the lack of year-round roads connecting inland areas with sea and river ports," the deputy minister said

About the summit

The 9th International Arctic Summit - The Arctic: Prospects, Innovations and Regional Development - runs in Moscow and St. Petersburg on April 22-24. It features about 285 experts. The event is organized by the Arctic Council of the Eurasian Peoples' Assembly, the Arctic Academy of Sciences, the Energy and Civil Society Association, the Gubkin Russian State University of Oil and Gas, in partnership with the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute, the Russian State Museum of the Arctic and Antarctic, the Ministry of Emergency Situations' Research Institute.