MOSCOW, July 24. /TASS/. The Northern Fleet’s forces have deployed Bastion missile launchers on the coast of the Barents Sea in the Russian Navy’s large-scale exercise codenamed July Storm, its press office reported on Thursday.
"As part of the operational exercise July Storm being conducted under the direction of Russian Navy Commander-in-Chief Admiral Alexander Moiseyev, a missile battalion of Bastion coastal defense missile systems within a missile brigade of the Northern Fleet’s Kola Flotilla of Combined Arms Forces deployed launchers in a firing position area on the coast of the Barents Sea. The battalion’s personnel have begun accomplishing the objectives of supporting the operational regime in the designated operational area," the press office said in a statement.
Bastion coastal defense missile systems armed with Oniks supersonic anti-ship missiles help create restricted access and maneuver zones in the Arctic and defend the coastline over 600 km long. Their deployment at firing positions takes several minutes. An Oniks homing cruise missile flies to the target at 2.5 times the speed of sound and is practically invulnerable to modern air defense and anti-ballistic missile defense systems. The missile is capable of knocking out a combat ship of any displacement at a distance of several hundred kilometers.
During the operational exercise July Storm, the Northern Fleet’s forces are practicing measures to protect coastal civilian facilities and defend its garrisons. The Northern Fleet is also focused on exercising command and control of combined arms forces in its area of responsibility, finding solutions to accomplishing unconventional operational tasks and practicing the integrated use of precision-guided weapons, advanced and future armaments and military hardware.
The drills also help explore potential areas of combat operations, the conditions of employing the Northern Fleet’s combined arms forces, weaponry and robotic systems in the western Arctic maritime zone and carrying out joint special operations to isolate areas of the operation of potential terrorists, block and destroy them, 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 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.