Mount Yarokovo

Mount Yarokovo - known formally as National Defence Complex Mount Yarokovo (Arvorian: Комплекс национальной обороны Гора Яроково) and also as An-02 Ан-02) - is an Arvorian military facility operated by the Arvorian Air Force located in Tura Oblast in southern Arvor, 19.3 kilometres (12 miles) east of the town of Dmiznetsk and 143.2 kilometres (89 miles) northwest of the oblast seat at Lenigansk. It is built into the mountain of the same name, which stands approximately 1,640 metres (5,380 feet) at its pinnacle and is located at the northern end of the Polepovets mountain range.

Mount Yarokovo is a Site of National Security Significance (Объект, имеющий значение национальной безопасности) and a Basic Continuity of Government (Основная преемственность правительства) facility. Air Base Dmiznetsk is located five kilometers (3.1 miles) west of the mountain and is home to 91 through 100 Squadrons of the Arvorian Air Force. Ground Forces Base Stepeysk is located 24 kilometres (15 miles) further west and is home to the 82nd Motorised Rifle Regiment. Both bases serve as dedicated defence to the complex. The entire area is part of the Ninth Military District, with the district commander based out of Mount Yarokovo itself.

Overview

Mount Yarokovo from the south.

Mount Yarokovo monitors the aerospace of Arvor and all of D'Runia, tracking missiles, space systems, and aircraft through its early-warning and remote monitoring systems. It has been the home of Aerospace Defence Command (Командование воздушно-космической обороны) since its construction and is also the home of the national civil defence communications centre, being the site of a section of the Main Communications Directorate of the Ministry of Defence, with one of the central nodes of the All-Republic Comprehensive System for Information and Warning (Общереспубликанская комплексная система информации и оповещения, ОКСИО or OKSIO) located here. Were the nation to go to war or suffer from a major foreign attack, the mountain is the primary site from which the Wartime Broadcasting Service (Служба радиовещания военного времени, Срвв or SRVV) of ITOA would operate and transmit information to the nation.

The main control stations for two important systems - the D'Runia Integrated Radar Defence System (Интегрированная система радиолокационной защиты Д'Руния, ИсрзД or ISRZD), which includes the PERIMETER national radar network, and the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (Спутниковая система слежения и ретрансляции данных, Сссрд or SSSRD) - are located here. The complex is also home to AURORA, the IR12 Strela-V supercomputer that serves to co-ordinate and process data flows on international military and political affairs in support of AFA analysts and planners.

Facilities

Main chambers

While one-fifth of the complex sits above ground, the remainder is built deep into Mount Yarokovo itself, underneath 762 metres (2,500 feet) of solid granite and encompassing 33 buildings on five hectares (12.3 acres). The buildings are protected from movement by a system of giant springs and flexible pipe connectors to limit the operational effect of movement. The springs, more than 2,000 of them, are designed to prevent any of the buildings from shifting more than 25 millimetres (one inch). The complex is certified to be able to sustain an electromagnetic pulse (EMP). Three of the buildings are dedicated to housing facilities for base staff, including suites for high-ranking officers within the bunker. Amenities include an infirmary, commissary, cafeteria, recreation centre, and a fitness centre. In the event of a major emergency whereby the mountain would be sealed, it holds enough supplies, medicine, food, and spare parts to function for up to six months completely closed off from the outside world.

In a time of severe national emergency, the president and premier would relocate here. Two special suites of rooms are set aside solely for their use. There are also accommodations for the Council of Ministers and the General Staff of the Armed Forces. All military and national security operations can be managed from the mountain, with shielded, secure land lines linking it to vital communications nodes in hardened bunkers able to send messages throughout the nation.

Blast doors

The bunker is built to deflect a 30-megaton nuclear explosion as close as 2 kilometres (1.2 mi). Within the 3.22 kilometre (2 mile) long main access tunnel are sets of 22.7 metric tonne (25 short ton) blast doors for the main bunker and another set for the engineering department. The doors were built so that they can always be opened when needed. Should the mountain suffer a direct strike, the doors are designed to withstand the blast wave. A network of blast valves equipped with unique filters are installed in the air and water systems and can capture airborne chemical, biological, and radiological contaminants.

Outdoor

Outside of the military complex are the car park and a fire station, as well as the offices for certain non-critical services maintained at the facility. Both roads leading up to the mountain's primary access tunnel are guarded all hours of the day and night by armed military police. All who would gain access to the facility must have the appropriate clearance and authorisation.

Support area

The complex has its own nuclear generating station, two biodiesel-fired backup generators, a heating and cooling system, and water supply. It is the job of the engineers on site to ensure that there is a 99.999% degree of reliability of its electricity, water, air conditioning and other support systems. The threats that the complex may face, in descending order of likelihood, are "medical emergencies, natural disasters, civil disorder, a conventional attack, an electromagnetic pulse attack, chemical or biological or radiological attack, an improvised nuclear attack, a limited nuclear attack, and a general nuclear attack." The least likely events are the most hazardous.

As more water is produced by the underground mountain spring than the base needs, there is a 7,750 cubic metre (7.57 million litre) reservoir to ensure that even in event of fire, there is enough water to meet the facility's needs. A secondary reservoir of 17.03 million litres (17,000 m3) of water is used as a heat sink. There is also an extensive battery bank installed as a redundant power supply.