Russian naval ships hold drills in Mediterranean Sea
SEVASTOPOL. Aug 14 (Interfax-AVN) - Black Sea Fleet ships within Russia's permanent group in the Mediterranean Sea have performed maneuvers, Black Sea Fleet spokesman Captain 1st Rank Vyacheslav Trukhachyov told Interfax-AVN on Friday.
"The exercises were conducted in the announced area in neutral waters in the eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea. Black Sea Fleet Deputy Commander Vice Admiral Valery Kulikov coordinated the drills from the guard missile carrying cruiser Moskva," Trukhachyov said.
Apart from the cruiser Moskva, the maneuvers also involved five combat ships and three support vessels, he said. They were the surveillance ship Pytlivy, the missile carrying amphibious ship Samum, the small missile carrying ship Mirazh, the large assault ships Tsezar Kunikov and Azov, the rescue towboats Shakhtyor and SB-36, as well as the tanker Lena.
"During the drills, the ships of the Black Sea Fleet practiced guarding convoys, repelling an imaginary adversary's air strikes at different altitudes, conducting combat operations against surface ships and helping a damaged vessel. They also held live-fire exercises using Osa guided air defense missiles and artillery weapons against a simulated sea target," Trukhachyov said.
