Sound of gunfire ceases in Pechenga
In a show of force, the Northern Fleet’s land and coastal units took full use of their powerful arsenal during this week’s exercise near border to Norway.
The drills were conducted jointly by the Northern Fleet’s land and coastal forces and held in Pechenga, just few kilometers from the border to Norway and Finland.
Among the weaponry applied in the training was B-72b battle tanks, self-propelled artillery 2S3 Akatsiya, Gvozdik, Nona and Msta-S, air defense artillery complex Shilka, rocket complex Strela-10, multiple rocket launcher BM-21 Grad and the anti-tank missile system 9K111 Fagot, the Northern Fleet informs.
In the exercise, the Naval infantry acted as the attacking part, while the motorized units were the defenders
More than 5,000 soldiers and 500 armored tanks and vehicles took part in the drills.
Pechenga houses the Northern Fleet’s 61st Naval infantry brigade, as well as the 200th Independent Motor Rifle Brigade.
It is not clear whether also the units from Alakurtti, the 80th Independent Motor Rifle Brigade, are taking part of the drills. The Alakurtti forces are a core part of Russia’s new Arctic Brigade. The brigade has an estimated 3,000 men.
