MOSCOW. April 10 (Interfax-AVN) - The purpose of the cruise of Russian warships to the Indian Ocean is to demonstrate the Navy flag in that part of the world.
"The demonstration of the flag means a country's political presence. It is an indicator of economic development, combat potential and military might," Admiral Eduard Baltin, former commander of the Black Sea Fleet, told Interfax-Military News Agency on Thursday.
He recalled that the 8th naval squadron was on combat duty in the Indian Ocean and a technical support base was located in the Vietnamese port of Cam Ranh in the Soviet times.
"Permanent observation was maintained over vessels of the possible enemy. Moreover, there were no seizures of our civilian vessels, because we were assigned the mission to protect navigation," Baltin said.
"The country's combat potential is meant to create favorable conditions for economic activities, protect its interests in all regions of the world, and strengthen the country's political authority," Baltin said. From a global viewpoint, this should be the purpose behind the cruise of the Russian ships in the Indian Ocean and to other regions of the world's oceans.
In addition, any vessel in the sea conducts intelligence, the admiral stressed. "Sometimes I can see things better through the periscope than a person on a tourist bus. Taking into account the developments in the Gulf area, the ships will conduct all types of intelligence there, including radio- and radio-technical intelligence. Our ships are not the only ones to do that, this is common practice worldwide," he said.
"Space intelligence alone is not enough, there must be an aggregate of all intelligence data," Baltin noted.
"I do not want to disclose all secrets, but it is necessary to know the tactics of leading armies, including methods of applying Tomahawk cruise missiles, to study their flight trajectory, and to analyze tactical specifications of deck aviation. There is a contact way of studying this, but there is also a technical way. Any exercise has operational, tactical and research goals. Their volume depends on the missions assigned by the Navy command," the former fleet commander said.
Asked about the reasons for including a large landing craft apparently carrying marines in the Russian detachment sailing to the Indian Ocean, Baltin said, "When I was a fleet commander, I always considered marines my right hand. I felt fine when they were near."
He recalled that a large landing craft of the Pacific Fleet carrying a marine battalion was a permanent component of the 8th squadron in the Soviet times.
Several Black Sea fleet ships headed from Sevastopol for the Indian Ocean on Thursday.
"The fleet unit that embarked on a long cruise today includes the Black Sea Fleet's flagship Moskva, the escort ships Pytlivy and Smetlivy, and also the large landing ship Tsezar Kunikov," a high-ranking official of the Black Sea Fleet told Interfax-Military News Agency.
The Pacific Fleet unit, made up of the cruisers Marshal Shaposhnikov and Admiral Panteleyev and the tanker Vladimir Kolechitsky, left Vladivostok on Sunday.
The two squadrons will meet near the island of Sokotra in the Indian Ocean.
The Russian naval ships will conduct joint military exercises with the Indian Navy in May.