Northern Fleet Bottom-Lines Training Year 2012

03.12.2012 Northern Fleet (NF) started with tasks of the new training year on Dec 1.

In 2013, NF forces will face international exercises Pomor-2013 and FRUKUS-2013, execute anti-piracy tasks off Somalia and in the Gulf of Aden. NF mariners will continue with trials of constructed and modernized warships and submarines.

According to NF Commander Vice Admiral Vladimir Korolev, it is significantly that NF warships will be involved in exploration of Arctic and Northern Sea Route in accordance with national maritime doctrine requiring renewal of Russia's presence in key regions worldwide.

In 2012, NF servicemen held about 1,300 training activities, including over 800 with practical use of arms. They were dozens of antiaircraft and antisubmarine exercises, hundreds of shipboard drills, missile and gun firings.

Over 20 NF warships and auxiliary vessels took part in long-range deployments. In Feb 2012, NF carrier strike group led by aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov returned from the 2-month long deployment. Through that time, over 150 aircraft sorties were carried out in the Atlantic Ocean and the Barents, the Norwegian, the North, and the Mediterranean seas.

One of the most significant activities in 2012 was the duration-record deployment of destroyer Vice Admiral Kulakov performing anti-piracy tasks in the Gulf of Aden. The ship's crew had spent 159 days at sea and had covered over 29,000 nautical miles escorting dozens of foreign commercial vessels.

Ships of NF Kola Flotilla participated in the Pomor-2012 and the Northern Eagle-2012 exercises, performed training tasks within interfleet task forces in the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea along with ships of Baltic and Black Sea fleets.

In the current year, crews of NF ships successfully maintained state acceptance trials of Russia's newest submarines SSBN Yury Dolgoruky, SSBN Alexander Nevsky, SSGN Severodvinsk, and other subs that had passed modernization at shipyards.

Participation in the Western Military District's all-arms exercise was one of the fleet's key combat training activities in 2012. The exercise concept provided practicing of inter-branch cooperation amid land, sea and air components in order to maintain protection of economic and other essential assets located in Arctic region.

About 7,000 men were involved in the exercise, as well as over 20 surface ships and submarines, more than 30 aircraft and 150 armor vehicles. The exercise episodes were practiced in the Barents and the Kara seas, at coast-based test ranges in Murmansk region, Sredniy and Rybachiy peninsulas.

Through the training year, NF mariners have accomplished all training tasks in full. Among the most difficult ones were underwater test launches of Granit cruise missiles performed by nuclear submarines against sea targets. Crews of submarines Voronezh and Orel passed that exam with excellence.

Successful launches of cruise missiles were also held by corvettes Iceberg and Rassvet, NF coast missile/artillery units, crew of SSGN Severodvinsk.

Summing up the training year of 2012, NF Commander Vice Admiral Vladimir Korolev emphasized that all tasks assigned to the fleet had been fully accomplished and obtained high appreciations of higher command. Upon results of the ending year, a number of NF servicemen were awarded state and naval medals.