MOSCOW, April 28. /TASS/. Crews of the Russian Northern Fleet's Bastion coastal defense missile system, have held an exercise on Franz Josef Land, the fleet’s press service reported.
"As part of regular combat training, Bastion coastal defense missile system crews from the Northern Fleet’s tactical group based on the Franz Josef Land archipelago have held the exercise," according to the statement.
The crews were tasked with engaging enemy ships in the Arctic Ocean, after which they moved from their permanent base to the positioning area.
After receiving the signal to use missile weapons, the crews carried out firing using computer simulation at a target simulating a squadron of enemy ships located about 300 kilometers away. During the exercise, the missile crews conducted operations to camouflage their positions and counter drones.
The Bastion systems armed with the Oniks hypersonic anti-ship missiles are used to create restricted access and maneuver zones in the Arctic and ensure the protection of vast territories. They can be deployed to combat positions in minutes. The homing cruise missile travels to its target at 2.5 times the speed of sound, is virtually undetectable by modern air defense and missile defense systems, and is capable of wrecking a warship of any size at a range of several hundred kilometers.