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Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier to head for Mediterranean in summer — source

Right now, the aircraft carrier is at Murmansk’s 35th Shipyard, where specialists prepare it for the long-distance campaign

© ITAR-TASS/Lev Fedoseyev

MOSCOW, March 5. /TASS/. Russia's heavy aircraft carrier - Admiral Kuznetsov - in summer may go to the Mediterranean Sea, a high-ranking official at the Russian Navy told TASS on Saturday.

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"This summer, we plan the Admiral Kuznetsov's campaign in the Mediterranean Sea, where it will lead the Navy group in that region," the source said.

Right now, the aircraft carrier is at Murmansk’s 35th Shipyard, where specialists prepare it for the long-distance campaign.

The source, however, has not specified what tasks the flagship of the Russian Navy will have in the Mediterranean grouping.

Formation of the Russian Navy’s permanent grouping in the Mediterranean Sea began in 2013. As a rule, more than ten warships are in that region on the rotation basis.

The permanent naval grouping in the Mediterranean Sea now includes the missile cruiser Varyag armed with the Fort-M air defense system (the naval version of the S-300 antiaircraft missile complex) and the large antisubmarine warfare ship Vice-Admiral Kulakov.

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