Across the vast expanse of the Pacific, the Tu-142M3 anti-submarine aircraft from naval aviation carried out training flights designed to simulate locating a fictitious enemy submarine. Interfax, citing the fleet press service, reported on these operations, highlighting the crew’s efforts to validate detection procedures and response protocols during the exercise.
The aircrew employed a combination of radar and hydroacoustic sensors to search for and identify the simulated underwater target. Once a submarine was conditionally detected, the pilots proceeded to maintain surveillance, coordinating tracking data and sharing position information with the surface task force. A Pacific Fleet surface ship then approached the exercise area, receiving detailed patrol reports from the aircrew about the suspected submarine’s coordinates and movement, thereby reinforcing the joint maritime aviation surface warfare workflow and the command and control loop between air and sea components.
During these training sorties, the Tu-142MZ crews focused on executing a defined flight corridor with precision, ensuring seamless coordination among pilots, navigators, and sensor operators. The sessions also emphasized real-time decision making, safe cross-checking between navigation aids, and the tight integration of flight discipline with sensor data interpretation to sustain continuous situational awareness throughout the route and surveillance phase.
Earlier exercises involved two Pacific Fleet ships conducting drills to repel a simulated enemy air attack on the Vladivostok base. The training scenario incorporated a reconnaissance drone that, while inactivating due to electronic warfare measures, was subsequently neutralized by artillery fire. The sequence highlighted the layered defense capabilities of air, sea, and electronic warfare assets and underscored the importance of rapid response, disciplined coordination, and effective threat assessment in protecting a strategic naval facility.