MOSCOW, August 4 — The Russian Pacific Fleet has begun large-scale military exercises in the Sea of Japan, the Sea of Okhotsk and the northwestern Pacific, Russia’s Defense Ministry said Tuesday, describing the maneuvers as a test of command-and-control capabilities and the integration of precision weapons.
The ministry said more than 13,000 service members, around 60 warships and support vessels, and roughly 30 fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters and naval-aviation drones are taking part. Ship groups, including the missile cruiser Varyag, mine-sweeping units and missile-boat strike groups, have moved to assigned operating areas.
Coastal defense units equipped with Bastion and Bal anti-ship missile systems have also deployed to firing positions. The drills are being conducted alongside other security agencies and federal executive bodies.
“The main task is to test the ability of commanders of formations and units to command troop groups and solve non-standard combat missions in their areas of responsibility,” the Defense Ministry said.
The exercises come amid heightened military activity in the Asia-Pacific region and follow a series of Russian naval deployments in the Pacific and Arctic this year. Moscow has repeatedly described such drills as defensive in nature, while neighboring countries routinely monitor the movements.
Analysts note that the scale of the current exercise — one of the largest involving the Pacific Fleet in recent years — signals Moscow’s continued focus on protecting its Far Eastern maritime approaches and projecting naval power in the Pacific.