Patrushev highlights role of advanced technology in maritime competition

MOSCOW, September 29. /TASS/. State-of-the-art technologies are playing a key role in international maritime competition, said Nikolay Patrushev, aide to the Russian President and Chairman of the Marine Board.

"In modern conditions, maritime activity is increasingly becoming a sphere of international rivalry, in which advanced technologies play a key role," Patrushev said at the Board meeting. "The process of forming a new model of the maritime economy is underway, where unmanned navigation, robotic systems, artificial intelligence, big data analysis, relevant microelectronics, and innovative ship powerplants are beginning to play a decisive role."

Russia must possess technological sovereignty for purposes of ensuring national security, the head of the Maritime Board stressed.

"However, despite the fairly high level of competence in maritime activities of our country, primarily in naval and nuclear shipbuilding, materials science, hydrography, and marine science, as well as the successful operation of advanced engineering schools, there is a lack of their comprehensive practical use," Patrushev said.

An integral end-to-end system of technological development in the maritime sphere providing for the full cycle of the maritime economy, from establishing strategic priorities and defining process needs to creating prototypes, mass production, technical support, disposal and attracting investments, has not been formed, he added.