We went out in formation: The Pacific Fleet will work out the fight against drones

The active use of unmanned boats and the practice of countering them will become a feature of the main operational exercises of the Pacific Fleet — they began on August 4 and will last several weeks in the Seas of Japan, the Sea of Okhotsk and the northwestern Pacific Ocean. But the sailors will focus on practicing the use of high-precision weapons and other modern weapons. In total, about 60 ships and submarines, more than 30 aircraft and helicopters, unmanned complexes and over 13 thousand military personnel are involved in the maneuvers.

How will the Pacific Fleet exercise go?

On August 4, the forces of the Pacific Fleet (Pacific Fleet) moved to the Seas of Japan and the Sea of Okhotsk, as well as the northwestern Pacific Ocean, where operational exercises will be held, which will become the main event of the fleet's combat training this year.

They involve a strike force led by the cruiser Varyag, missile and boat strike groups, search and strike formations, as well as minesweeping groups, the Pacific Fleet press service reported. In total, about 60 ships, submarines and support vessels, about 30 aircraft, helicopters and unmanned naval aviation systems, and over 13,000 military personnel will be involved in the maneuvers for several weeks. Calculations of the Bal and Bastion coastal missile systems have also moved to the launch areas.

The main focus of the exercises will be on developing the integrated use of high-precision weapons and modern weapons. Working out non-standard operational tasks will also be an important task.

Which missiles will be used during the exercise

It is planned that the flagship of the Pacific Fleet, the Varyag missile cruiser, will fire the Basalt missile system. This is one of the largest anti-ship cruise missiles, military expert Dmitry Kornev told Izvestia. "Basalts" can be used against aircraft carriers and other ship groups, as well as ground targets. Due to their ability to overcome air defenses, they are effective against both group and individual, well-protected objects. The range is more than 500 km.

— A group of missile boats will use Mosquito cruise missiles. Even modern air defense systems can hardly shoot down such targets. "Mosquitoes can hit any kind of naval targets with a high degree of probability," Dmitry Kornev noted.

The corvette of project 20380 "Hero of the Russian Federation Aldar Tsydenzhapov" uses the Uranus complex. Its range is up to 150 km. This is an anti-ship missile with the ability to be used against ground targets.

— The Bastion coastal complex uses Onyx missiles. It is a supersonic missile that can hit both sea and land targets. It penetrates any air defense," Dmitry Kornev explained.

At the end, the Gremyashchy corvette will fire the Kalibr complex at the Kura training ground. The Kalibras can hit ground targets at a range of up to 2.5 thousand km.

— The events will take place throughout the theater of operations of the Pacific Fleet. This is the biggest exercise this year, and we can say it's the final one," military expert Captain 1st Rank Vasily Dandykin told Izvestia. — Repelling enemy attacks, amphibious landings, amphibious assault, repelling attacks by unmanned boats, air defense and anti-submarine warfare will be practiced.

He noted that submarines of various classes are taking part in the maneuvers. They will practice strikes on surface ships. Coastal missile forces, marines and naval aviation will also be involved.

— The exercises are conducted taking into account the current realities, taking into account the experience of operations in the Black Sea. That is why special attention will be paid to the use of unmanned boats and ways to protect against them," said Vasily Dandykin.

The expert drew attention to the fact that a marine division has already been formed in the Pacific Fleet. The maneuvers will use the experience of a special military operation. Each ship has a Marine unit stationed to protect it from attacks by aerial and naval drones.

As reported by Izvestia, on August 3, the Northern Fleet conducted exercises in the Barents Sea to defeat the ship groups of the imaginary enemy. They involved the Admiral Golovko frigate, the Marshal Ustinov missile cruiser, the Bastion coastal missile system and various types of aircraft.

The forces of the imaginary enemy were detected by a Tu-142 aircraft. He transmitted the target designations to the group's command post, the frigate Admiral Golovko. The enemy landing force was destroyed by the artillery fire of the naval group. Then, a combined rocket salvo was launched at targets simulating the main enemy grouping at a distance of 300 km. The frigate Admiral Golovko launched a Kalibr missile, the Marshal Ustinov missile cruiser launched a Volcano, and the Bastion coastal complex fired back with Onyx. At the end of the exercise, the nuclear submarine Orel launched three Granit cruise missiles from an underwater position.