VLADIVOSTOK, June 24 (Xinhua) -- Warships of Russia's Pacific Fleet have carried out artillery firing targeting aerial and maritime targets as part of bilateral tactical drills involving fleet force groupings in the Sea of Japan and Okhotsk, local media reported on Monday.
"The warships of the Pacific Fleet, after deployment in designated areas of the Sea of Japan and Okhotsk, began performing combat exercises as part of a bilateral exercise of Pacific Fleet groupings," TASS News Agency quoted the fleet's press office as saying.
The press office added that the ship groups engaged in a naval battle with a mock enemy, conducting artillery fire against surface and aerial targets. Anti-aircraft missile systems were also employed to neutralize airborne threats.
Prior to the combat exercises, Ka-27PS deck helicopters from the tactical groups of the Primorsk flotilla carried out reconnaissance and enemy search operations at sea. Sailors practiced camouflage techniques using smoke screens to defend against simulated unmanned enemy boats.
The bilateral tactical drills of the Pacific Fleet force groupings run from June 18 to June 28 across the waters of the Pacific Ocean, the Sea of Japan, and the Sea of Okhotsk under the overall command of Admiral Viktor Liina, commander of the Pacific Fleet. ■
