Arctic rush

Why not, the US has been making big claims to areas of that region recently too, but no sinister overtones in that right?

https://rostec.ru/news/predpriyatie-roselektroniki-vozglavilo-tekhnicheskiy-komitet-rosstandarta-po-aerostatam-i-dirizhablya/

The Dolgoprudny Design Bureau of Automation (DKBA) of the Ruselectronics holding headed the technical committee "Balloons and airships", created by order of the Federal Agency for Technical Regulation and Metrology (Rosstandart). The Committee will be engaged in the development and updating of standards in the field of production of balloon systems and complexes, including for use in near-outer space and at high altitudes.

Within the framework of the committee's work, methodological foundations will be created for systematizing the requirements for the development and production of balloon systems and complexes. Among the most important tasks of the committee is to create the necessary base for the implementation of projects to create airship facilities with a carrying capacity of 30 to 200 tons for hard-to-reach areas of the Arctic.

The committee includes 21 industrial enterprises, including leading Russian research institutes, educational institutions and industry associations. Mikhail Kalinin, General Director of the DKBA, was appointed Chairman of the Committee.

"Balloon complexes are again becoming a relevant topic today. The existing requirements for these systems in our country were formulated in the Soviet era and no longer meet today's realities - all these standards need to be quickly changed, "sharpened" for modern tasks and technical conditions. This is the only way we will be able to create a dynamic market for balloon systems and complexes in Russia, which in fact does not exist in our country. Of course, there are a number of enthusiasts, but the devices they produce do not have the proper level of quality and the necessary performance characteristics. DKBA managed to preserve both expertise in this area and the production base. The new technical committee will update the rules and form standards to give the industry the necessary impetus for development. On its basis, all solutions will be worked out and requirements will be formulated, which will then be broadcast to all market participants," said Mikhail Kalinin, General Director of DKBA.

DKBA is a leading Russian state-owned enterprise engaged in advanced developments and has the technical capabilities to produce balloon complexes on an industrial scale.

Among the members of the committee are the Vector Research Institute, the L.K. Safronov Research and Testing Site for Aviation Systems, Optron JSC, Moscow Aviation Institute, Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, Phystech, Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute, Gromov Flight Research Institute, Nizhny Novgorod CSM, Okhrana Research Center of the Russian Guard, Mil and Kamov NCV, RT-Intellectexport LLC, V.A. Putilov Institute of Informatics and Mathematical Modeling, Kola Science Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg State University of Aerospace Instrumentation, Academy of Military Sciences, Scientific Information Center "Polar Initiative", Yakutsk CSM, Federal State Budgetary Institution "Institute of Standardization", All-Russian Research Institute "Center".

With new light but strong composite materials that can essentially be made fire proof, as well as new materials that contain hydrogen gas more efficiently, plus hydrogen fuel cell technology, solar panels, new technology batteries and new electric motors of improved performance and efficiency, a modern air ship should be at the forefront of low speed long range transport.

You could have onboard emergency power sources like small gas turbine engines that run on hydrogen that generate heat and their byproduct is steam which can be used to heat up the gases in the structure and also be collected as water ballast and also the be separated into hydrogen and oxygen in a circular process.

Solar panels and batteries can also be used to collect and store energy... in tropical areas a dehumidifier can be used to collect water in flight (as diesel fuel is burned, you lose weight so collecting water from the exhaust stops the airship becoming too buoyant). It can also be "processed" using electricity from solar panels into hydrogen gas for later conversion into electricity via hydrogen fuel cells.

The conversion from fuel (hydrogen) to water (ballast) means dumping lifting gas or ballast can be minimised which results in more efficient use, and cheaper operations.

S p r i n t e r
@SprinterFamily
The United States, as part of a new "Arctic strategy", plans to significantly expand its presence in the Far North.

According to public information, the Pentagon plans not only to increase the activity of special forces in the Arctic, but also to increase the fleet of icebreakers, expand the use of drones with artificial intelligence and modernize the North American Aerospace Defense Command

This is a perennial masturbatory announcement from the exceptional hyperpower. It is now simply comic relief.

kvs wrote:This is a perennial masturbatory announcement from the exceptional hyperpower.   It is now simply comic relief.  

Financial voodoo doesn't build icebreakers, the West has and will continue to deindustrialize themselves.

Maybe they can rent a few old icebreakers with crews from Russia. 

The Russians have been able to use their drone technology to allow them to map resources in Antarctica for the first time.

The Japanese previously tried but failed.