MURMANSK, May 28. /TASS/. The Northern Fleet’s heavy nuclear-powered missile cruiser Pyotr Veliky and also planes and helicopters of the Air Force and Air Defense Army started drills in the Barents Sea, the Fleet’s press office reported on Friday.

"The Northern Fleet’s heavy nuclear-powered missile cruiser Pyotr Veliky has begun practicing combat training tasks at naval ranges in the Barents Sea in interaction with aircraft and helicopters of the Air Force and Air Defense Army," the press office said in a statement.

At the first stage of the drills, the warship’s crew checked the operation of the cruiser’s radio-technical systems in various modes for detecting and tracking aerial targets. An Il-38 anti-submarine warfare plane simulated an aerial target in the drills. Following this, the seamen practiced interoperability with Ka-27 anti-submarine helicopters in searching for a notional enemy’s submarines, the statement says.

The crew of the missile cruiser Pyotr Veliky will shortly hold a series of drills for anti-submarine warfare and air defense and fulfil combat training exercises employing weapons, the press office specified.

The Pyotr Veliky is the world’s largest non-aircraft combat strike ship outfitted with a nuclear propulsion plant. It is designated to strike large surface targets and provide all-embracing air and anti-submarine defense. The cruiser is armed with the most advanced Granit cruise missiles and shipborne air defense systems and carries surface-to-air missile, artillery and anti-submarine armaments on its board.