The drill takes place
on August 1-9.
MOSCOW, August 1.
/TASS/. About 70 combat ships and support vessels and 58 aircraft of the
Russian Navy and the Aerospace Force are taking part in the Ocean Shield 2019
drills in the Baltic Sea, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported on Thursday.
The Ocean Shield
naval drills will run on August 1-9 in the Baltic Sea under the direction of
Russian Navy Commander-in-Chief Admiral Nikolai Yevmenov, the ministry said.
"Overall, the
drills involve 49 warships and combat craft, 20 support vessels, 58 aircraft of
the Navy and the Aerospace Force and 10,634 personnel of the Russian Armed
Forces," the ministry issued a statement.
The naval grouping
mostly comprises warships and vessels that took part in Russia’s Main Naval
Parade in St. Petersburg and Kronshtadt on July 28, the ministry added.
The drills will
practice the deployment of the Navy’s inter-fleet grouping and the skills of
commanding the fleet’s forces. It will also check the Navy’s preparedness for
defending Russia’s national interests.
The Russian Navy held
its first Ocean Shield drills in the country's modern history last year in the
Mediterranean Sea. They ran on September 1-8, 2018 and involved 26 combat ships,
two submarines, 34 aircraft of the Russian Navy and the Aerospace Force. As
part of the naval maneuvers, the sailors practiced missile live-fire from the
warships, helicopters and aircraft. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu
stated that the large-scale Ocean Shield drills involving naval forces and
aircraft would be held on a regular basis.
Source: ITAR-TASS
01-08-2019
