Kalashnikov has revealed a pair of smart drones designed to protect Russian assets in the Arctic.

The drones will offer 'round-the-clock protection of the perimeters' according the the arms makers.

The two 'ZALA' drones have an automatic identification system that can gather information about a vessel at a distance of 62 miles, it claims.

The ZALA 421-16Ev2, one of two new 'ZALA' drones that have an automatic identification system that can gather information about a vessel at a distance of 62 miles, it is claimed

THE ARCTIC DRONES

The two drones will able to give operators information about each vessel: its name, size, course and speed.

It also has its own alternative navigation system for when GPS or its Russian equivalent, is unavailable. 

According to previous specs for the drone, it features a  a 24-megapixel photo camera with replaceable lenses. 

New radio channels also make ZALA capable of video or infrared real-time shooting , while its battery can last for five hours. 

 'ZALA Arctic drones are capable of successfully solving civilian and military tasks for carrying out research in the Arctic zone, providing for the safety of sea shipping and the round-the-clock protection of the perimeters, organizing the full-fledged system of tracking the Arctic coast and territorial waters,' Kalashnikov Group CEO Vladimir Dmitriyev was quoted by TASS as saying.

The two drones are able to give operators information about each vessel: its name, size, course and speed.

It also has its own alternative navigation system for when GPS or its Russian equivalent, is unavailable. 

Russian military involvement in the Arctic has been increasing in recent years, along with U.S. concerns over it.

The commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard recently likened the situation to the South China Sea with its abundant natural resources and contested territorial claims.

'Presence equals influence. If we don't have a presence there, our competitors will,' Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Karl L. Schultz. said at the Wilson Center in Washington. 

According to the latest US Intelligence, Russia has 46 ice cutters, including seven that are nuclear powered, and 12 more that are under construction, Schultz said.

Although China isn't an Arctic nation, they have two ice cutters and another under construction. 

'It's hard not to see [China's ] activities in the Arctic as anything but an overt claim to power, pure and simple,' Schulz added.

The U.S. Coast Guard has just two ice cutters - he Polar Sea, a heavy ice cutter commissioned in 1976, and the Healy, a medium ice cutter, commissioned in 1999.

The drones will offer 'round-the-clock protection of the perimeters' according the the arms makers.. Pictured, a summer 2018 photo provided by NOAA shows the USCG Icebreaker Healy on a research cruise in the Chukchi Sea of the Arctic Ocean

The Polar Sea can ram though ice up to 21 feet thick and operate continuously through ice 6 feet thick. 

Samuel Bendett, research analyst with the Center for Naval Analyses' International Affairs Group, told Defence One this new military effort fits in with Russia's prioritization of the Arctic.

'Russia views the Arctic as an area vital to its national security — for the defense of the nation, for the economic development and for environmental factors,' Bendett said.

According to previous specs for the drone, it features a  a 24-megapixel photo camera with replaceable lenses, while a 60-zoom video camera and heat imager are also available. 

New radio channels also make ZALA capable of video or infrared real-time shooting , while its battery can last for five hours.  

According to the firm, the drone operators will autonomously live in the Arctic in a specially developed all-weather living module based on a marine 200-feet container.  

The drone was revealed at 'The Arctic: the Present and the Future,' forum organized by the Association of Polar Explorers, runs in St. Petersburg on December 5-7.