MOSCOW, January 31. /TASS/. A group of the Russian Northern Fleet’s combat ships and support vessels practiced anti-submarine warfare missions during drills in the Norwegian Sea, the Fleet’s press office reported on Monday.

The naval sailors hunted down a notional enemy’s submarine using sonars and data from military pilots, it said.

"As part of the drills with the Arctic expeditionary task force, a group of the Northern Fleet’s combat ships and support vessels practiced anti-submarine assignments in the Norwegian Sea. The crews of the missile cruiser Marshal Ustinov and the frigate Fleet Admiral Kasatonov hunted down the notional enemy’s submarines with the help of an anti-submarine warfare helicopter," the press office said in a statement.

After taking off from the deck of the frigate Fleet Admiral Kasatonov, the pilots of the upgraded Ka-27M helicopter accomplished a set of measures to search for adversary submarines using radio-technical equipment and an onboard sonar, the press office said.

In compliance with the 2022 plan of the Russian Armed Forces’ training, a series of naval drills are being held in January-February this year in all the areas of responsibility of the Navy’s fleets under the general command of Russian Navy Commander-in-Chief Admiral Nikolay Yevmenov.

The naval maneuvers are focusing on measures by the Navy and the Aerospace Force to protect Russia’s national interests in the World Ocean and counter military threats to Russia from the direction of seas and oceans.

The drills will cover the seas adjacent to Russian territory and also operationally important areas of the World Ocean. Separate drills will run in the Mediterranean, North and Okhotsk Seas, in the northeastern Atlantic and the Pacific Ocean.

Overall, the sweeping drills will bring together over 140 warships and support vessels, more than 60 aircraft, 1,000 items of military hardware and about 10,000 troops.