Northern Fleet trained in the Barents Sea
Russia’s Northern Fleet has just finished an exercise in the Barents Sea and is now preparing to leave for the Mediterranean.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry Russia’s only aircraft carrier “Admiral Kuznetsov” and the destroyer “Admiral Chabanenko” will leave their bases in Murmansk and Severomorsk in December and sail south.
It has earlier been informed that the vessels will sail to the Mediterranean, but it is not yet decided which ports will be visited.
Read also: “Admiral Kuznetsov” ready for winter migration to the south
The two vessels have since November 13 been training at the the Northern Fleet’s training area in the Barents Sea. The exercise included four artillery and ten missile shootings, anti-submarine drills and anti-air-attack drills in, Mil.ru writes.
During the exercise, the aircraft carrier took onboard an air wing of Su-33 and Su-25 jet-fighters and Ka-27 helicopters.
Apparently the Russian Arctic waters will not be completely left in peace while the air carrier group is away. According to the state commission for testing of Russia’s new Borey-class nuclear-powered strategic submarine “Yury Dolgoruky”, the submarine’s first salvo fire of the Bulava missile will be conducted as planned in December, Rossiyskaya Gazeta writes.
Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov last week warned that the launch could be postponed to next spring because of the weather conditions in the area.
