MOSCOW, July 16. /TASS/. Twenty combat ships and boats will take part in the first rehearsal of Russia’s Main Naval Parade, Navy spokesman Captain 1st Rank Igor Dygalo said on Monday.

The first rehearsal will be held on the Neva River early in the morning on July 17, the spokesman said.

"Twenty combat ships and boats will take part in the first rehearsal of the Main Naval Parade on the Neva, which will be held from 4 to 6 hours in the morning on July 17 under the direction of Russian Navy Commander-in-Chief Admiral Vladimir Korolyov. During the training, missile corvettes, minesweepers, anti-sabotage and amphibious assault ships, patrol and artillery boats will pass through the established waterway as part of tactical groups," he said.

During the first rehearsal, sailors will practice steering warships in a formation, keeping the set course at small speeds, exchanging signals and organizing communications. The rehearsal will also check the actions of navigators and watch officers.

Earlier, the three-day training of the amphibious assault ships Ivan Gren and Korolyov, the diesel-electric submarine Vladikavkaz and the corvettes Soobrazitelny and Boiky, which had arrived for the parade, came to an end in the Gulf of Finland. Overall, the maneuvers involved 35 warships and vessels.

2017 naval parade

On the Russian president’s instruction, the first Main Naval Parade in Russia’s modern history took place in 2017. From now on, it will be held annually along with the naval parades in the Northern, Black Sea and Pacific Fleets and the Caspian Flotilla.

The guests of last year’s parade saw the Pyotr Velikiy battlecruiser; the world’s biggest nuclear submarine Dmitry Donskoi and a number of the Russian Navy’s most advanced warships, including the amphibious assault ship Ivan Gren, the frigate Admiral Makarov, as well as the diesel-electric submarines Veliky Novgorod and Vladikavkaz.

China’s destroyer Hefei, frigate Yuncheng and support vessel Luoma Hu also took part in the naval parade.

On the day of the parade, various naval aviation aircraft flew over St. Petersburg, including the Su-33K and the MiG-29K carrier-based fighter aircraft, Su-24M bombers and Su-30SM multirole fighter jets, MiG-31BM interceptors, Il-38 and Tu-124M anti-submarine warfare and maritime patrol aircraft and other planes. The air show also featured the Ka-52K Katran ship-based reconnaissance and combat helicopters, Ka-27 and Ka-29 antisubmarine warfare helicopters, as well as Mi-8 transport and attack gunships and Mi-24VP attack helicopters.

Overall, the naval parade involved about 50 warships and submarines, 40 aircraft and helicopters. For the first time in the entire history of naval parades in St. Petersburg, more than 5,000 sailors of the Baltic, Northern and Black Sea Fleets and the Caspian Flotilla were involved in the festivities on Russia’s Navy Day.