Russian Navy Enters New Year with 70 Vessels

Russian Navy ships, submarines, units and formations of the Northern, Pacific Ocean, Black Sea and Baltic Fleet met the new training year which started on December 1, with around 70 ships in service.

According to the Russian Navy Main Command, special attention will be paid to the training of interservice troops and forces, including ship formations in 2016.

Crews of Kolpino and Veliky Novgorod project 636.3 submarines are set to attend training courses after which they will be put into service in 2016.

The servicemen are attending training courses to master modern guard ship Admiral Makarov, corvette Gromky, special vessel Ivan Khurs, mine countermeasures ship George Kurbatov, and five Grachonok-series anti-sabotage motor boats.

According to the Russian Ministry of Defence, Russian naval aviation will be equipped with more than 10 aircraft and about 20 modernized helicopters Ka-27.

In the new training year, combat ships and supply vessels of the Northern Fleet will perform cruises to the Arctic and the Mediterranean Sea.

Within the scheduled activities, the Northern Fleet crews of major ASW, landing and supply ships are preparing for further long-range cruises.