MOSCOW. Feb 14 (Interfax) - The Northern Fleet's naval aviation pilots from an air wing based on the heavy aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov have begun practicing a cycle of flights from the carrier deck in the Mediterranean Sea southeast of Cyprus, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
"During their flights in deck based fighters Sukhoi, Su-33, and ship-based helicopters Kamov Ka-27, naval pilots are improving their navigational and flying tactical skills, the technique of piloting ship-based fighters with a performance of extreme and complicated aerobatic maneuvers across the whole range of altitudes, speeds and overloads. They are also performing formation flights," NF spokesman 1st rank Captain Vadim Serga told Interfax-AVN on Thursday.
"Yesterday the Su-33 ship-based fighters performed nine passages, four touchdowns and eleven landings on the deck of the aircraft carrier," he said. The crews of the ship-based helicopters Ka-27 performed eight sorties. In all, the deck-based aviation pilots spent about 18 hours in mid-air, the officer said.
Flights will continue over the next few days, weather permitting, he said.
During the naval task force's long journey the NF air wing pilots "gained significant practical experience in flying from the deck of the aircraft carrier in the open sea, having performed over 130 sorties with a total flight time of about 100 hours," Serga said.