Moscow’s Tass News Agency reports that onboard crew held separate drills for ship damage control and the vessel’s radiation, chemical and biological protection at sea as part of the drills. Yevgeny Kocheshkov, the the Baltic fleet’s assault ship, was said to have used multiple rocket launchers during drills today. The fleet said in a statement: “During its deployment to the sea, the ship’s crew successfully delivered artillery fire against naval surface and air targets.
“The fire was delivered from 140mm Ogon launchers (the seaborne version of Grad multiple launch rocket systems) against a special buoy field that simulated the enemy’s coastal battery and also from 30mm AK-630 automatic guns against air targets that simulated the notional enemy’s aircraft.”
The stunning vessel is a Project 12322 ‘Zubr’ air-cushion small amphibious assault ship, designated to sealift amphibious assault forces with their military hardware.
The move is the latest by President Putin to flex Russia’s military muscles.
Just this week, Russia’s Defence Ministry released footage of their destructive TOS-1A heavy flamethrower tank system.
The Ministry showcased video footage of the destructive capabilities of the TOS-1A tank.
The weapon is able to hold 24 thermobaric missiles at once and is able to obliterate objects within 40,000 square meters.
The video showcased the destructive power of one of the missiles as flames and a large cloud of smoke erupt following contact with its target.
Russia is notoriously secretive about the extent of their military capabilities but Russia’s Defence Ministry Tweeted the footage of the vehicle during a drill.
The video shows the weapon being loaded with missiles, moved into position and firing on targets.
The footage was released by the Russian military on Tuesday.
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Donald Trump sparked concerns in Moscow after the Department of Defence (DoD) confirmed 20,000 US troops will be deployed near Russia’s European borders in early 2020.
The move marks the largest deployment of USA troops to Europe in 25 years in preparation for the NATO war games exercise named Defender Europe.
The large movement of US soldiers into the European continent sparked fears in Moscow, which had to be reassured by NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg Russia is not the target of exercise.