Units of Black Sea Fleet (KBSF) Marine Brigade were sealifted by large landing ships Azov and Novocherkassk from Sevastopol to Opuk Range near Feodosiya and conducted mock landing assault operation.
On the way to the landing area, the ships and Su-24 aircrafts (BSF Naval Aviation) suppressed “enemy” counterlanding defenses by artillery and missile firings.
To support landing party, An-26 airplane and Mi-8 helicopter dropped a tactical airborne unit and an assault team.
Main objectives of the exercise were interaction amid brigade command posts and battalion observation posts in practice, as well as cooperation between exercise headquarters and ships.
The exercise director – BSF Coast Defense Troops Commander Gen. Maj. Alexander Ostrikov – noted “cohesiveness of battalion command posts, well arranged interaction in combat control both at sea and during tactical episodes on the coast”.
When the landing assault drill was over, BSF marines practiced embarkation of armored vehicles on board amphibious ships.
[mappress] Naval Today Staff , April 02, 2012; Image: Southern Military District Press Service