MOSCOW. May 2 (Interfax) - Russian anti-submarine warfare (ASW) planes have trained in the Peter the Great Gulf in the Sea of Japan, the Pacific Fleet reported on Tuesday.
"Ilyushin Il-38 and Il-38N ASW planes from the Pacific Fleet's marine aviation have successfully accomplished tactical missions of anti-submarine defense in the course of training flights," the fleet said.
"The crews trained the tactics of detection, classification and tracking of a mock enemy's submarines by ASW radars and hydro-acoustic systems. A diesel-electric submarine of the fleet served as the mock enemy," it said.
"The training flights were performed consistent with the training plan of the Pacific Fleet's marine aviation in the Peter the Great Gulf," the fleet said.
Il-38 is a long-range ASW aircraft tasked with tracking down and destroying submarines both solo and together with destroyers, as well as with conducting maritime reconnaissance and search-and-rescue operations. According to official information, Il-38 has a takeoff mass of 68 tonnes, a range of 2,200 kilometers, and a ceiling of 8,000 meters. It carriers up to 8,400 kilograms of payload, including ASW bombs, torpedoes and sea mines. The plane is capable of up to 14 hours of patrolling.