Russia wants seaplanes in border control
FSB’s border guard service plans to use seaplanes in monitoring of Russia’s border rivers and Arctic waters.
A center for construction and testing of so-called ekranoplans and education of personnel is planned to be built in Petrozavodsk, Karelia.
The centeris planned to be established at the shipyard Avangard, Izvestia writes. The ekranoplans are suited for border monitoring of rivers, lakes and even in Arctic waters and along the Northern Sea Route, analysts believe.
Petrozavodsk in Karelia has not been chosen accidentally as location for production of the seaplanes. From the Lake Onega you also have access to waters and waterways both to the south and the north, and the temperate climate allows for testing of seaplanes all throughout the year. The region also has a large personnel reserve, with many people being laid off after the Armed Forces’ reorganization.
The Federal Security Service (FSB) has since November 2011 been testing a seaplane of the Ivolga-type in the border guard service in Karelia, according to Izvestia.
