Troops in Russia’s east thwart enemy’s amphibious assault on Kuril Islands in drills

MOSCOW, March 9. /TASS/. Russia’s Eastern Military District wrapped up drills on the Kuril Islands where the troops practiced repelling a notional enemy’s amphibious assault, the District’s press office reported on Tuesday. The troops delivered strikes from sheltered positions at night against the targets that simulated adversary warships and practiced detecting hostile air targets, the press office specified. "Under the direction of acting Commander of the Eastern Military District’s Army Corps, Hero of Russia Major-General Vladimir Belyavsky, the troops practiced tactical measures upon the landing of a notional enemy’s amphibious assault force onto the coast of one of the Kuril Islands," the press office said in a statement. "Thus, the teams of self-propelled artillery systems delivered massive strikes from sheltered fire positions at night at a range of several dozen kilometers against surface targets that simulated the hypothetical enemy’s small amphibious ships," the statement says. The fire was adjusted from Orlan-10 and Eleron-3 unmanned aerial vehicles. In addition, anti-aircraft gunners from units of the Eastern Military District’s Air Force and Air Defense Army practiced spotting the simulated enemy’s air targets within the area of their responsibility. After receiving a training alarm about intrusion into the airspace, they destroyed the spotted air targets by electronic missile launches of S-300V4 surface-to-air missile systems that went on combat duty for the defense of the airspace of the Kuril Islands Ridge at the end of last year, the press office said. The Eastern Military District’s press office earlier reported that the drills had kicked off in late February and involved over 1,000 troops and about 300 items of military and special hardware, including the forces and equipment of the Pacific Fleet, helicopters and aircraft of the District’s Air Force and Air Defense Army. Read more