Northern Fleet exercise postponed
A large-scaled navy exercise that the Northern Fleet started in the Barents Sea on Monday was unexpectedly aborted on Wednesday. According to the navy’s press service, the reason was bad weather and technical faults.
The exercise, which was to include anti-aircraft forces, naval infantry, submarines and practically all Northern Fleet vessels, is postponed to September 6-7, state television company GTRK Murman reports.
The exercise was to be led by Northern Fleet Commander Vice-Admiral Nikolay Maksimov and was aimed at strengthening coordination between different fleet units, as well as coordination with other weapon branches.
Also air defense units were preparing a shooting exercise with the S-300 anti-Aircraft missile system from the island of Kildin in the Barents Sea.
Exactly what made the vessels carrying anti-aircraft weapons change their course and return to base, is not clear. The navy’s press service turns to several different causes: difficult weather conditions and technical faults, according to the television company.
