Russian combat ships kicked off joint naval maneuvers with the Iranian and Chinese navies in the Gulf of Oman, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported.
"A group of the Russian Pacific Fleet’s ships comprising the Guards missile cruiser Varyag and the frigate Marshal Shaposhnikov has started practicing objectives of the joint international naval exercise Maritime Security Belt 2024 with ships of the Iranian and Chinese navies," the statement reads.
During the naval maneuvers, combat ships from the three countries will accomplish joint maneuvering and firings against surface and aerial targets and practice elements of freeing a vessel seized by pirates.
Overall, the joint naval maneuvers involve more than 20 combat ships, support vessels and gunboats from the Russian, Iranian and Chinese navies. Naval aviation helicopters are broadly employed in the drills.
The international naval maneuvers Maritime Security Belt are running for the sixth time since 2018. But this time, representatives of the navies of Azerbaijan, India, Kazakhstan, Oman, Pakistan and the South African Republic will take part in the naval maneuvers as observers for the first time.
