SEVASTOPOL, December 2. /TASS/. A group of the Black Sea Fleet’s ships will call at the port of Alexandria in Egypt on December 3 to participate in the Bridge of Friendship 2021 Russian-Egyptian joint naval maneuvers, the Fleet’s press office reported on Thursday.

"A group of the Black Sea Fleet’s ships is completing its transit to the port of Alexandria of the Arab Republic of Egypt to participate in the joint Russian-Egyptian naval exercise Bridge of Friendship 2021. The naval ships are scheduled to officially call at the port of Egypt on December 3," the press office said in a statement.

The Russian Navy’s task force comprises the frigate Admiral Grigorovich with a deck-based helicopter, the patrol ship Dmitry Rogachyov and the rescue tug SB-742. The Russian delegation headed by Commander of the Black Sea Fleet’s Novorossiysk Naval Base Rear Admiral Viktor Kochemazov has already arrived in Alexandria to wrap up the preparatory stage of the drills, the press office specified.

In the course of the exercise that will run in the eastern Mediterranean, the Russian and Egyptian combat ships will operate under the command of the joint headquarters of the drills under a single plan and accomplish the tasks of thwarting attacks by naval targets, inspecting suspicious ships, providing air defense and replenishing supplies at sea from a helicopter," the statement says.

The exercise that will run on December 3-10 aims "to train and plan joint operations for defending limited maritime areas from various threats, conduct search and rescue efforts and inspect suspicious vessels," the press office specified.

The Russian and Egyptian navies have been holding the Bridge of Friendship joint naval maneuvers since 2015. In 2020, the drills ran in the Black Sea, with the participating combat ships calling at the port of Novorossiysk.