PRETORIA, February 22. /TASS/. The Russian frigate Admiral Gorshkov will not fire a hypersonic missile Zircon during the naval exercise by South Africa, Russia and China that has begun in the Indian Ocean, the commander of the participating detachment of Northern Fleet ships, Oleg Gladky, told a news briefing that the South African Ministry of Defense held on board the South African frigate Mendi in Richards Bay in the southeast of the country.
"The hypersonic weapon will not be used in the context of these exercises," Reuters quotes Gladky as saying. The press service of the Northern Fleet noted that the active part of the exercise would take place from February 25 to 27. During this period, joint artillery firing will be carried out at sea.
The participants agreed to assign to Russia the status of the lead country of the exercise, codenamed Mosi-2. Russia is represented by the frigate Admiral Gorshkov and sea-going tanker Kama, China, by the destroyer Huainan, frigate Rizhao and support ship Kekexilihu, and South Africa, by the frigate Mendi.
The exercise is running off the coast of the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal in the area between the port city of Durban and Richards Bay. The distance between them is 87 nautical miles (160 kilometers).
"The objective of the current exercise is to increase the level of coordination and cooperation between the navies of the three participating countries," the South African Ministry of Defense and Military Veterans told TASS.
The current trilateral exercise by South Africa, Russia and China is second in a row. The previous one took place off Cape Town in the southwest of South Africa in the waters of the Atlantic Ocean in November 2019.