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Russian Northern Fleet’s warplanes return home after Syrian operation

The pilots were received in a festive ceremony by their families, the command of the Russian Navy and the Northern Fleet
MiG-29K fighter jet Sergei Bobylev/TASS
MiG-29K fighter jet
© Sergei Bobylev/TASS

MURMANSK, February 3. /TASS/. Pilots of the Northern Fleet’s deck-based aviation have performed a flight from the heavy aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov to their aerodrome in the Murmansk Region after their successful mission in Syria, the Fleet’s press office said on Friday.

"The shipborne aircraft and helicopters Su-33, MiG-29K, Ka-52, Ka-29 and Ka-27 have performed a flight from the heavy aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov staying in the Barents Sea to the home aerodrome in the Murmansk Region after successfully performing their missions in the Syrian Arab Republic," the Fleet’s press office said.

According to a live broadcast of the Russian TV Channel Rossiya-24, the crews of three MiG-29K and one Su-33 fighter jets have been the first to arrive at home airbase.

The pilots were received in a festive ceremony by their families, the command of the Russian Navy and the Northern Fleet, the personnel of the Fleet’s Air Force and Air Defense Formation, representatives of local authorities, war veterans’ associations, schoolchildren and students.

From November 8, 2016, the Northern Fleet’s naval task force comprising the heavy aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov, the heavy nuclear-powered missile cruiser Pyotr Veliky and large anti-submarine warfare ships Severomorsk and Vice-Admiral Kulakov, and also warships of the Black Sea Fleet, support vessels and over 40 deck-based aircraft performed missions for fighting terrorism in Syria.

For the first time in the history of the Russian Navy, the deck-based aircraft were accomplishing combat missions with the delivery of air strikes against ground facilities after taking off from the aircraft carrier.

The strikes were delivered against the militants’ headquarters and command posts, the amassment of militants and their military hardware, terrorists’ firing positions and strongholds.

Over the two months of their combat mission in Syria, the pilots of shipborne aviation made 420 sorties, including 117 at night, and also 750 flights for search and rescue operations and aircraft transport provision.

Actually all flights were performed in complex weather conditions. The Russian Northern Fleet’s pilots destroyed over 1,000 terrorist facilities. There were no casualties among the aircraft carrier naval task force’s personnel.