Russia’s Pacific Fleet celebrates its 286th anniversary
On May 21, the Armed Forces of Russia celebrate the Pacific Fleet’s Day, says press center of RF Defence Ministry. It was this date in 1731, when the Senate of the Russian Empire established the Okhotsk military port as the first permanent naval unit of Russia in the Far East.
Within its history, the Pacific Fleet (PF) has gone through several stages: from sailing ships to oceanic ones, from artillery weapons to missile-nuclear ones. Today the Red Banner Pacific Fleet is one of the largest operational-strategic associations of the Russian Navy. It ensures protection of our state's interests in the Asia-Pacific region, in the designated operational area with the overall square up to 50 percent of the entire World Ocean. To fulfil these key tasks, the Fleet’s structure contains nuclear-powered strategic and multi-purpose submarines, surface ships, naval aviation, as well as marine infantry, formations of land and coastal troops – from Primorye Territory to Kamchatka Peninsula.
The most important PF’s tasks are as follows: protecting the economic zone and production areas, ensuring safety of navigation, implementing foreign policy actions of the government in economically important regions of the oceans. On a regular basis, the Pacific Fleet’s warships are performing combat service in the Pacific and Indian Oceans, in the Okhotsk, Japan and South China Seas, and about five years ago the PF’s ships began to conduct cruises to the Mediterranean.
In the nearest future, further modernization and equipping of the Fleet with new hardware and armaments are expected. In recent years, the Pacific Fleet’s strength was added by strategic nuclear-powered missile submarine cruisers Aleksandr Nevsky and Vladimir Monomakh, amphibious boat Ivan Kartsov, sea tugboat Aleksandr Piskunov, two Grachonok type anti-sabotage boats, several auxiliary vessels, including project 21300 rescuer Igor Belousov with unique equipment. In the short term, corvettes Sovershenny, Gromky, Hero of Russia Tsydenzhapov will also join the Fleet. Coastal units received missile systems Bal and S-400 Triumph. Naval aviation in Primorye and Kamchatka was added by modernized ASW aircraft Il-38N and deck helicopters Ka-29. A separate brigade of marines near Vladivostok mastered new parachute systems.
In the course of summer training period the Pacific Fleet’s seamen are to display their skills during many large-scale exercises, including international ones, and also continue to perform the tasks of combat services in the World Ocean.
