MOSCOW, July 24. /TASS/. The Baltic Fleet’s Baltiysk and Leningrad naval bases practiced repelling a notional enemy’s naval drone attack as part of the Russian Navy’s sweeping drills codenamed July Storm, the Fleet’s press office reported on Thursday.
"As part of the Navy’s operational exercise July Storm, the Baltiysk and Leningrad naval bases conducted drills for base defense with the repulsion of an attack by a notional enemy’s uncrewed boats. The exercise was held with the crews of missile boats, small anti-submarine warfare ships, minesweepers, patrol and anti-saboteur boats, using simulation means. All the targets were notionally repelled in a training episode," the press office said in a statement.
Under the scenario of the drills, a notional enemy’s uncrewed boats were detected approaching a naval base during the deployment of the Baltic Fleet’s naval forces. The commanders of ships and boats were assigned the objective of repelling the seaborne drone attack, it said.
During the practical phase of the drills, the crews of shipborne missile/artillery combat units practiced a stage-by-stage algorithm of detecting, tracking and destroying the surface targets, firing artillery weapons, heavy machine guns and small arms at simulated targets. The crews of radio-technical combat units generated electronic interference, using electronic warfare systems, the press office specified.
On July 23-27, the Russian Navy is conducting the operational exercise codenamed July Storm under the direction of Navy Commander-in-Chief Admiral Alexander Moiseyev in the Pacific and Arctic Oceans, the Baltic and Caspian Seas with the involvement of the forces of the Northern, Pacific and Baltic Fleets and the Caspian Flotilla.
The drills have brought together over 150 combat ships and support vessels, 120 aircraft, 10 coastal defense missile systems, 950 items of military and special hardware and more than 15,000 personnel.