MOSCOW, April 17. /TASS/. The Pacific Fleet’s surprise combat readiness inspection practiced the preparedness of strategic missile-carrying submarines for employing their weapons, Defense Minister Army General Sergey Shoigu reported to Russian President Supreme Commander-in-Chief Vladimir Putin on Monday.

The Pacific Fleet’s forces are carrying out the 2nd stage of the drills. The naval task force set up in a distant maritime area is transiting to the southern part of the Sea of Okhotsk, accomplishing the objectives of combat maneuvering and ferreting out the underwater situation, the defense chief said.

The Pacific Fleet’s forces "have practiced the issues of the combat sustainability of strategic missile-carrying submarines and their preparedness for employing their weapons. An air defense tactical exercise has begun. Naval aircraft are involved to simulate enemy forces," Shoigu reported.

Pacific Fleet’s sudden inspection

All of the Pacific Fleet’s forces went on heightened alert on April 14 in a surprise combat readiness check. The naval sailors will exercise to prevent a potential enemy’s penetration into the southern part of the Sea of Okhotsk, repel the landing of an adversary force on the Island of Sakhalin and the southern Kuril Islands, Defense Minister Shoigu earlier reported.

The sudden combat readiness inspection commanded by Russian Navy Commander-in-Chief Nikolay Yevmenov also involves some units of the Aerospace Forces. The sweeping drills are aimed at raising the preparedness of the Russian forces for "repelling a potential enemy’s aggression from oceanic and maritime directions." The exercise will also focus on operations by strategic nuclear-powered missile-carrying submarines.