VLADIVOSTOK. April 17 (Interfax) - The Russian Pacific Fleet has held an anti-submarine warfare drill and fired artillery at seaborne and airborne targets in the Sea of Japan during a surprise combat readiness check.
The ships left the base early in the morning and deployed in formation to the designated area of the range in the Sea of Japan. The ships performed tactical maneuvering in a variety of formations and provided every type of defense and security of a naval unit at sea. The Admiral Panteleyev destroyer and the Marshal Shaposhnikov frigate fired 100mm AK-100 and A-190 artillery systems and 30mm AK-630 rotary cannons at seaborne and airborne targets of the mock enemy at the range, which was closed for civilian ships in advance.
Later on, the ships trained the search for and destruction of the mock enemy's submarine. Kamov Ka-27PL helicopters with dunking sonars were scrambled from the ships. Tupolev Tu-142M3 long-range anti-submarine airplanes were also deployed to the training area.
Once the mock enemy's submarine was tracked down, the destroyer used the coordinates provided by pilots to fire anti-submarine rockets.
Under the exercise scenario, the ships detected an anti-ship missile and took passive jamming measures. In addition, the Marshal Shaposhnikov and the Admiral Panteleyev fired Kinzhal air defense missiles at a mock airborne target.
A floating mine endangering civilian ships was destroyed by shipborne artillery systems.
All missions were accomplished, and the command assessed performance of the Marshal Shaposhnikov crew as excellent, frigate commander Sergei Merkulov told reporters. He said the crew easily passed the surprise check as it had been practicing at sea almost every week since January 2023.
The surprise combat readiness check of the Russian Pacific Fleet began on April 14 on the orders from Russian Supreme Commander-in-Chief, President Vladimir Putin. The entire fleet was alerted for the check, which also involves long-range aviation, aircraft of the Russian Eastern Military District, and supply and logistics units.