The area’s geopolitical significance stems from its largely ice-free Arctic ports, rich natural resources, important military installations and training areas, and past and present East-West tensions, the latter of which have significantly increased by the recent accessions of Sweden and Finland to NATO and Russian military operations.
The Russian portion of the map is home to its Northern Fleet and includes the mostly ice-free ports of Murmansk, Severomorsk, and the strategically important submarine bases of Polyarny. Also in this area are the important Russian air bases of Olenegorsk, Monchegorsk, Severomorsk, and others. The narrow land corridor from the Kola Peninsula towards the Baltic region has evolved into dense clusters of military airfields and installations, and has been listed as having the highest concentration of nuclear weapons, reactors, and facilities in Russia. This area, along with parts of central Finland adjacent to its border with Russia, is the focus of the early-access release.
The included regions of Norway, Sweden, and Finland also feature critical airbases, army bases, weapon and fuel storage depots, and training areas. Notable airports include Rovaniemi and Kemi-Tornio in Finland, Kiruna and Vidsel in Sweden, and Bodo, Andoya, and Lakselv in Norway. Sweden and Finland also feature multiple road runways, for defensive force dispersal of military aircraft.
Key Features of the Early Access Release
- Complete base terrain for the entire map area, with highly detailed topography, summer ground textures, shorelines, and lakes and rivers.
- An initial focus area spans the Finland/Russia border and encompasses central Finland and the western parts of the Murmansk and Karelia regions of Russia (see map).
- Four high-detail areas, focusing on two airports in Finland (EFRO, EFKE) and five in Russia (XLMV, ULAK, RU-1110, RU-4464, ULMM), and their urban and rural surroundings and infrastructure.
- Two road runways in Finland, near Rovaniemi and Sodankylä, respectively.
- Two additional airports in Norway (ENBO, ENNA) and three in Sweden (ESNQ, ESNJ, ESUK) are functional but not fully detailed at early-access release.
- Significant civilian POIs include bridges, vertical obstructions, monuments, hydro dams, power stations, port facilities, landmark buildings, open-pit mines, towns and small villages, and industrial sites.
- Improved night lighting for cities and towns.
- Main road and railroad network, with bridges and tunnels, which is connected across the map that allows long-distance AI routing.
- Natural landmarks and geographic features, like Norwegian fjords, detailed coastlines, snowfields, forests and wetlands, tens of thousands of lakes, and large river systems.
- Map features represent the current era but includes allowances for the late-Cold War era – e.g., operational road runways and fully functioning Russian air bases – to enhance mission options.
- The Orbx team is collaborating with experienced DCS campaign creators Baltic Dragon and Reflected Simulations to create engaging campaigns.
Additional Features after Early Access Release
- Complete set of winter textures that load dynamically based on mission date, to accurately represent the cold and harsh climate of the Kola area.
- Additional detailed military airfields, including Andøya, Bardufoss, Kirkenes, Evenes, Vidsel, Kilpyavr, Alakkurti, and others.
- Additional military installations like naval and army bases, barracks, ports, storage areas, training areas/ranges, radar and communication sites, and air defense sites.
- Additional Cold War era Swedish and Finnish road runways.
- Additional civilian airports, including Tromsø, Hammerfest, Ivalo, Luleå, and others.
- Additional detailed cities and towns, POIs, and industrial sites.
- Improvements to landscape features and detail, as well as additional areas with high-resolution aerial orthoimagery.
