SEVEROMORSK. June 1 (Interfax-AVN) - The Admiral Levchenko large-displacement ASW ship left Severomorsk, the main base of the Northern Fleet, for the Atlantic on Wednesday.
The Northern Fleet press-service told Interfax that in the next 50 days the ship will visit four foreign seaports. The ship is headed by Colonel Sergei Shvanov, chief of staff of the Northern Fleet's surface ship division.
In June-July the ASW ship will represent the Russian Navy at the joint naval exercise in the Bay of Biscay, involving combat ships from Russia, the U.S., Great Britain, and France.
The major objective of the exercise is to refine joint actions, aimed at combating maritime terrorism and piracy, as well as liaison in the high seas.
According to Commander Igor Babenko, a press-service official, the ship carries a marine unit, which will also participate in the exercise.
The Admiral Levchenko will also take part in celebrations of the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar to be held in the British seaport of Portsmouth, the main naval base of the Royal Navy, on July 28, 2005.
The Battle of Trafalgar was fought by the Royal Navy and the French-Spanish fleet off the Cape of Trafalgar on the Spanish Atlantic coast on October 21, 1805 during the war between Napoleon and the anti-French coalition. In August 1805 a Royal Navy squadron, comprising 27 battleships and headed by Admiral Nelson, blocked a French-Spanish squadron, incorporating 33 battleships and commanded by Admiral Villeneuve, in Cadiz. The victory of the Royal Navy enabled it to establish a naval superiority in the war against France.
In June-July 2005 the ASW ship will visit Norway, France, Great Britain, and Iceland.
In the course of the voyage the ship will sail in excess of 5,000 miles. The crew will traditionally refine anti-ship, ASW, and air defense operations, as well as cooperation with naval aviation and survivability.
The ASW ship is a Project 1155 ship (Balkom-3 under NATO classification). It is designed to conduct ASW operations. It has a displacement of 7,570/8,400 tonnes, a length of 162 m, a width of 19.3 m, a draught of 6.2 m, and a speed of 32 knots.
The ASW ship is equipped with two Kamov Ka-27 shipborne helicopters, the BIUS-5 combat information command and control system, the Polinom automatic sonar system, the Metel ASW missile system, the Kinzhal air defense system, and artillery guns.