Northern Fleet Met Motherland's Defenders' Day with Good Results

24.02.2012 Northern Fleet (NF) mariners met the Motherland Defenders' Day having improved intensity of combat training almost on 40 per cent comparing to analogous period of the last year. That is mostly because of successful activities of NF carrier group deployed in the Northeast Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea.

Flight time of NF air crews has been grown more than on 130% in the winter training period. Coastal and ship-based pilots have carried out over 500 sorties. They patrolled air space over the Barents, the White, the Norwegian, the Mediterranean seas and the Atlantic Ocean. They performed various flight tasks including bombardments of naval ranges in the Barents Sea using air-based ASW weapons.

In 2011, crews of NF nuclear-powered submarines successfully launched 8 ballistic missiles including four test launches of SLBM Bulava. One of them was 2-missile salvo launch performed by SSBN Yury Dolgoruky.

NF coast defense troops held field drills and practice firing by armor vehicles, large-caliber self-propelled artillery systems, mortars, and grenade launchers. Inter-branch cooperation and joint training between reconnaissance units of NF marines and 200-th Infantry Brigade of Western Military District have been improved. Assault battalion actively conducts airborne training. Few days ago, automobiles and armor vehicles completed a 400-km march.

Northern Fleet will face critical tasks in the near-term prospect. The fleet is preparing for international exercises Pomor 2012, Barents-2012, and Northern Eagle 2012. Also, NF mariners will accomplish some tasks overseas; among them is anti-piracy mission in the Gulf of Aden.