MOSCOW, Oct. 26 (Xinhua) -- Russia's Northern Fleet will receive its first Tor-M2DT air defense missile systems in November, local media reported Friday.

The first battalion of Arctic version of Tor-M2DT air defense missile systems will enter service with air defense units in November, Alexander Leonov, chief of the Russian Land Force's Air Defense Lieutenant, was quoted by TASS news agency as saying.

According to Leonov, the Tor-M2 family is the most efficient means of combating all types of aerial targets, including low-observable unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

In January, Russian defense ministry said Russian troops in the far north and the Arctic will be equipped with the Tor-M2DT autonomous short-range anti-aircraft missile system in the year.

The Tor-M2DT is the Arctic version of the Tor-M2 air defense missile system. The system has 16 vertically-launched air defense missiles with a range of 12 km and an altitude up to 10,000 meters and can operate in manual and automatic modes.

It can operate in harsh conditions of the Arctic and the Extreme North at temperatures down to minus 50 degrees Celsius.

Russia is strengthening defense forces in the Arctic as it has stepped up efforts to exploit resources in the region and explore a polar shipping route.