MOSCOW. Sept 30 (Interfax-AVN) - The Northern Fleet's task force, led by the heavy nuclear missile cruiser Peter the Great, returned to its home base Severomorsk from a long-distance cruise to the Arctic on Monday, Northern Fleet spokesman Captain First Rank Vadim Serga told Interfax-AVN.
During the cruise to the Novosibirsk Islands the Northern Fleet's task force conducted a tactical exercise to practice beach landings from assault landing ships Olenegorsky Gornyak and Kondopoga, as well as operations to deploy a beach stronghold, to organize all types of defenses, to put a camp in place and to assist the delivery of cargo," he said.
Admiral Vladimir Korolyov, the Northern Fleet's commander, said "the task force of warships and auxiliary vessels successfully delivered personnel, weapons, equipment, property and material resources to be used in the restoration of the Arctic airfield Temp and to set up an aviation commandant's office, to the Island of Kotelny.
"The ships also delivered a stock of resources to be used during the winter by the aviation commandant's office which will work there on a permanent basis from now onwards," Serga said.
Overall, more than 40 pieces of military hardware, 15 large-size residential and social facilities, and a large amount of material resources, property and fuel and lubricants have arrived at the Island of Kotelny.
The more than 4,000 nautical-mile Arctic cruise began on September 3. It proceeded across the Laptev, Kara and Barents seas.