3 Russian Naval Fleets Conduct Wide-Ranging Drills in Pacific, Arctic Oceans

Exercises involve more than 150 ships, 120 aircraft, and at least 15,000 military personnel, Russia’s defense ministry says.

A Russian naval vessel fires an anti-ship missile in the Sea of Japan on March 28, 2023. Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP

The Russian navy has begun holding military drills in the Pacific and Arctic oceans and the Baltic and Caspian seas, according to Moscow’s defense ministry.

In a July 23 statement, the ministry said the five-day exercises—dubbed “July Storm”—were meant to test the navy’s readiness to “perform nonconventional operational tasks, [and the] deployment of long-range precision weaponry, unmanned systems ... and armored hardware.”