The northern fleet of the Russian Navy kicked off a series of large scale drills in the international waters of Norwegian and Barents seas to search for ”perceived enemy submarines in the Arctic.
The fleet’s press office stated that the drills may last for several days in the medium maritime zone. Whilst the manoeuvres, the crews of the warships will be looking to neutralise any threat from notional enemy subs while being in constant touch with I1-38 and Tu-142 aircraft and the Northern fleet submarines.
Two surface actions groups deployed by the Russian Northern Fleet
The northern fleet of the Russian Navy has launched a major searching operation by deploying two surface action groups comprising of small anti-submarine warfare ships Brest, Yunga and Onega from the Belomorsk and Kola All-Arms Force Flotilla naval bases.
Also, as a part of the drill, the pilots and sailors will be practising for detecting subsurface enemy, tracking it and then finally forcing it to the surface to be hit. There will also be torpedo fire and bombing drills towards the concluding stage of the mammoth maritime drill launched by the Northern fleet. Furthermore, the areas where combat exercises are being undertaken have been closed for civilian ships.
The northern fleet is the segment of the Russian Navy which operates in the Arctic region. It was founded in 1933 by the Soviet Union to safeguard the white sea during times of war. It had a major role to play World War II and was engaged to undertake some vital operations like blocking the Finnish Military base at Petsamo during 1939 and 1940.
