MOSCOW, June 17. /TASS/. The Project 971 ‘Shchuka-B’ [NATO reporting name: Akula] nuclear-powered underwater cruiser Gepard successfully struck a notional enemy’s submarine with an anti-submarine missile during the Northern Fleet’s drills in the Barents Sea, the Fleet’s press office reported on Thursday.

"The firing was conducted by a practice munition from the submerged position against a submarine of the same type. The combat exercise was fulfilled successfully," the press office said in a statement.

Before the firings, the crew of the submarine Gepard practiced hunting and tracking a hypothetical enemy’s sub, the statement says.

The area of the drills was closed off for shipping in advance for security reasons, the press office said.

Project 971 ‘Shchuka-B’ third-generation multirole nuclear-powered subs are distinguished by their enhanced quietness that makes them actually invulnerable. The Northern Fleet’s division of submarines with animal names operates the Project 971 underwater cruisers Pantera (Panther), Vepr (Wild Boar) and Gepard (Cheetah). One submarine of this Project is operational in the Russian Pacific Fleet.