KALININGRAD, April 17. /TASS/. Warships from the all-arms forces of the Baltic Fleet held drills at the Khmelyovka practice range in Russia’s westernmost Kaliningrad Region to land troops onto rough terrain, the Fleet’s press office reported on Wednesday.
‘Overall, the drills involved about 20 surface ships, support vessels and boats, more than 10 aircraft and helicopters of naval aviation, over 40 items of military hardware from the Fleet’s marine infantry large unit and engineering troops, and also around 500 personnel," the press office said in a statement.
The troops were landed from the large amphibious assault ship Korolyov and Dyugon-class air-cushion landing boats, the press office specified.
With the fire support of the Fleet’s naval strike group comprising corvettes, small anti-submarine warfare ships, small missile ships and boats, Su-27 fighters, Su-24M frontline bombers, Mi-24 attack helicopters and Mi-8 transport and attack gunships of the fleet’s naval aviation, move than 15 BTR-82A armored personnel carriers rolled onto the coast together with the personnel of amphibious assault companies from the marine infantry’s large unit.
During the drills, the marine infantry units, the crews of warships and aviation "practiced assignments to break through a notional enemy’s amphibious assault defense from the sea and deliver simultaneous strikes against defending forces," the statement says.
The drills for landing troops onto the rough terrain was a major stage of a controlling check of the Fleet’s forces by a commission of Russia’s General Staff.