SEVASTOPOL. Jan 9 (Interfax) - New forms and methods of using combat military hardware of the Navy and the Long-Range Aviation were tested at large-scale naval drills held off the coast of Crimea on Thursday, Russian Navy Commander Adm. Nikolai Yevmenov reported to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"The military hardware displayed its high reliability; new forms and methods of its application were tested. The personnel showed their professionalism; targets set for the drills were achieved. The results of the naval exercise will be thoroughly analyzed, and this will be reported to you," Yevmenov told the president.
Thirty-one naval ships and one submarine, 22 support vessels, and 39 aircraft participated in inter-branch drills involving the Navy's forces and troops and the Long-Range Aviation, Yevmenov said.
As reported earlier, the Black Sea Fleet and the Northern Fleet held joint drills in the Black Sea on Thursday involving missile drills, in particular, using Kalibr cruise missiles and the Kinzhal hypersonic aeroballistic missile.
Putin observed joint drills of the Northern and Black Sea Fleets in the Black Sea from on board the Northern Fleet's missile-carrying cruiser Marshal Ustinov.
"The drills were successful," Yevmenov, who supervised the drills, reported to Putin following the naval exercise.