MOSCOW. June 8 (Interfax) - Nuclear-powered submarines and diesel-electric submarines of Russia's Northern Fleet have held an exercise in the Barents Sea, the fleet said.
"Several nuclear-powered and diesel-electric submarines of the submarine forces and the Kola Flotilla of the Northern Fleet accomplished anti-submarine training tasks at several combat training ranges in the Barents Sea," the fleet said in a statement obtained by Interfax. "The submariners practiced sailing and maneuvering at different ranges of depths, tracking each other, disengaging from the pursuit, and the simulated destruction of the mock enemy," the statement said.
"The torpedo firing exercise on underwater targets was carried out in the form of duels. The crews of multirole nuclear submarines drilled the reciprocal attack. Each of them fired on the mock enemy two training torpedoes, which were discovered and lifted from the water by a torpedo recovery boat later," the Northern Fleet said.
Following the completion of training and combat tasks, all the submarines returned to their bases on the Kola Peninsula, the military said.
The Northern Fleet's submarine forces are considered the most powerful formation of Russian Navy's nuclear-powered submarines. This branch of the Navy was formed ten years ago as part of upgrading the Russian Armed Forces. The submarine forces included formations with combat traditions and the 60-year history of operating nuclear-powered submarines.
The Northern Fleet is a combined forces strategic unit of the Russian Armed Forces protecting Russia's national interests in the Arctic and other areas of the World Ocean. The Northern Fleet, in particular, includes strategic and multirole nuclear-powered submarines and the heavy nuclear-powered missile cruiser Pyotr Veliky.