MOSCOW. Sept 30 (Interfax) - A joint group of warships of the Russian Pacific Fleet and the Chinese Navy has held a live air defense and anti-submarine drill as part of the Beibu/Interaction 2024 naval exercise in the Sea of Okhotsk, the fleet press service said in a statement.
"Consistent with the exercise scenario, the group of warships practiced joint maneuvering and deterrence of an airstrike by fixed-wing drones. Air defense missile systems, AK-630 artillery systems and heavy machineguns repelled the drone attack," the statement said.
At the second stage of the exercise, Russian and Chinese warships practiced searching for a mock enemy submarine posed by a diesel electric submarine of the Pacific Fleet.
"The ships practiced joint formation and tactics of searching for the mock enemy submarine. A Kamov Ka-27PL helicopter with a dipping sonar conducted the search. Once the underwater object was found, the group of ships pursued the mock enemy and fired RBU-6000 rocket launchers upon its detection," the statement said.
Following the active operation, the ships deployed to another area and replenished reserves from tankers. A Russian-Chinese unit will be formed afterwards to begin a joint patrolling mission in the Asia Pacific region.
The joint group of ships of the Pacific Fleet and the Chinese Navy departed from Vladivostok on September 21. The Admiral Panteleyev and Admiral Tributs destroyers, the MPK-82 and MPK-107 anti-submarine corvettes, and the Smerch missile ship are representing Russia, while China is represented by the Xining and Wuxi destroyers, the Linyi frigate and the Taihu integrated supply ship.