The Russian military has released the first video detailing the complete modernization of a top secret military base in the Arctic. The video shows the technologically-advanced Northern Clover facility in Yakutia, reported RT News.

The base opened in 2015 and is home to more than 250 troops, supporting military operations on Kotelny Island, one of the New Siberian archipelagos off the northern coast of Russia. The base has a landing strip, high-power radar station, missile defense shields, and an array of high-tech weapons to defend the region from approaching threats.

Northern Clover can operate autonomously for 365 days without any additional supplies.

The base is part of Russia's northern shield, protecting the nation from external threats and economic interest in the Arctic.

Last year, President Vladimir Putin said that Moscow had "re-established itself firmly" in the Arctic, adding that the region is "extremely important" to Russia's economy.

Russia is not the only superpower trying to position itself in the region, as shrinking polar ice opens up new resource exploration capacities and shipping lanes across the Arctic Ocean.

The U.S., China, Canada, Denmark, and Norway have all shown interest in the Arctic.

Last year, China released a white paper outlining its plans for a "Polar Silk Road."

The Trump administration made its first attempt to tap the Arctic and Atlantic oceans for natural resources, but a federal judge in Alaska last month blocked the sale of drilling rights.

Pentagon spokesman Johnny Michael said the Department of Defense (DOD) "can best defend the U.S. national interests and support security and stability in the Arctic," in a “great-power competition” with Russia and China.

“The Arctic is changing faster than anywhere else in the world, losing older, long-term sea ice at a rapid rate. These changing environmental conditions are creating new access routes and new geostrategic opportunities,” Sherri Goodman, a senior fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center, told Fox News. “Russia’s aggressive actions in Ukraine and the Baltics are now occurring in the High North, against our Nordic allies. Russia is upgrading its military infrastructure in the Arctic. China is building a spider web of Polar Silk Road across the Arctic, strategically deploying its scientists across the region.”

Russia has made reaffirming its presence in the Arctic a top goal, where it controls 25% of the Earth's undiscovered oil and gas.

Putin has made several claims that the value of Arctic minerals could be north of $30 trillion.

The race for natural resources in the Arctic has started. With trillions of dollars of untapped resources in the Arctic, it makes sense why Russia has constructed a secret base to guard the region against American imperialist.

Video: Russian MoD reveals Arctic military base 'Northern Clover'