More than 20 Caspian Flotilla ships practice in surprise check of Southern Military District
MOSCOW. Feb 10 (Interfax-AVN) - Two groups of Caspian Flotilla ships have departed from their bases and have begun training in the Caspian Sea in the course of a surprise check of combat readiness in the Southern Military District, the district press service has said.
"More than 20 warships and support vessels, among them the Dagestan missile ship, the Grad Sviyazhsk, Uglich and Veliky Ustyug small missile ships, the Volgodonsk and Makhachkala gunboats, base and harbor minesweepers, the Grachonok P-351 anti-sabotage cutter, hydrographic ships and support vessels, are participating in the drills," the press service said.
Missile and artillery ship crews are practicing fire on seaborne, coastal and airborne targets, the press service said.
"Minesweeping teams are training anti-mine support to flotilla forces and escorting a naval unit through mine fields behind their mine-sweeps. A joint exercise of two naval tactical groups supported by Southern Military District aviation will be another episode of the drills," the press service said.
For the period of the exercises, the naval training range of about 1,500 nautical miles (more than 2,500 kilometers) is closed to civilian vessels for safety reasons, the press service said.
