KALININGRAD. June 23 (Interfax-AVN) - The ships and vessels, and the personnel of the formations and military units of the Russian Baltic Fleet (BF), which were involved in an exercise held jointly with the Russian Airborne Troops and the Russian Air Force in the Kaliningrad region, have returned to their permanent bases, a BF spokesperson said.
After completing their tasks at the Khmelyovka, Pravdinsky and Dobrovolsky training sites, the motorized rifle formations and the coastal marine guards formations finished redeploying personnel, as well as military and special hardware to their permanent bases. The homecoming took place in a combined manner, by road and by rail.
The Fleet's ships and support vessels involved in the exercise have also returned to the BF central base, the city of Baltiysk.
As part of the exercise, the BF ships and vessels spent over 100 days out at sea, during which they carried out over 20 missile, air defense and artillery attacks, more than ten depth bombings and minelayings, and a number of anti-submarine missions in cooperation with the Fleet's naval aviation.
During the exercise the coastal troops held three special tactical drills in cooperation with the units of the Pskov-based Airborne Division, performed over 60 live-firing drills using small-arms weapons and combat vehicle armaments, as well as rockets and cannons. The marine and airborne troops conducted 90 jumps of the personnel and equipment from military transport aircraft of the Fleet's naval aviation and the Russian Air Force.
The coastal troops and ship crews have now begun performing the tasks envisaged under a combat training plan approved earlier.
It was reported that Russia's Baltic Fleet, Airborne Troops and Air Force were holding an exercise in the Kaliningrad region led by the Western Military District troops commander.
The drills were held simultaneously with the international exercises in Europe, Saber Strike-2014 and Baltops-2014. The numbers of Russian defense forces and equipment involved in the exercise in the Kaliningrad region are comparable to those of the personnel, armament and military hardware involved in the border drills held by the NATO countries.