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Russian Pacific Fleet drills, which began on August 4, have included coordinated strikes by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and missile systems against simulated enemy targets, according to the fleet's press service. The exercises are the Pacific Fleet's main operational and combat training event for 2026, conducted in a bilateral format under the direction of Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral Viktor Liin.

Coverage Comparison

Reporting from the Pacific Fleet's press service, as carried by TASS, has detailed multiple aspects of the ongoing maneuvers. One report focused on the use of Forpost UAVs, which detected simulated enemy landing ships and transmitted their coordinates for strikes with Oniks and Uran missiles. Another report highlighted the capabilities of the Oniks supersonic anti-ship missile, while a third described minefield clearing operations in the Sea of Japan, the Sea of Okhotsk, and Avacha Bay.

Key Claims

  • Forpost UAVs detected simulated enemy landing ships and transmitted their coordinates for strikes with Oniks and Uran missiles.
  • The Pacific Fleet exercise involves approximately 60 surface ships, submarines, and support vessels, as well as about 30 aircraft, helicopters, and unmanned aerial systems, and over 13,000 service members.
  • The exercise is being conducted in a bilateral format under the direction of Admiral Viktor Liin.
  • Oniks supersonic anti-ship missiles are reported to be capable of bypassing virtually all modern air defense systems and disabling a warship of any size at a distance of several hundred kilometers.
  • Bal and Bastion shore-based missile system crews deployed launchers to designated positioning areas along the coast in the Primorye Region, Kamchatka, Chukotka, and the Kuril Islands.
  • Ship minesweeper groups cleared minefields in the Sea of Japan, the Sea of Okhotsk, and Avacha Bay during the drills.
During a joint strike against a simulated enemy's assault landing ship, Forpost UAV crews detected targets in a timely manner and transmitted their coordinates, after which the targets were successfully struck by Oniks and Uran missiles. The press service stated that naval groups in the Sea of Japan, the Sea of Okhotsk, and the northwestern Pacific are actively coordinating with the fleet's unmanned aerial systems, mastering and expanding their scope of application. The Forpost system, designed for reconnaissance, target designation, and monitoring of the current situation, transmitted real-time information about ships and vessels in the combat training area.

The press service also reported that the Oniks cruise missile moves toward its target 2.5 times faster than the speed of sound, is virtually impossible to detect by modern air defense systems, and can disable a warship of any size at a distance of several hundred kilometers. Bastion shore-based missile systems armed with Oniks missiles guarantee the creation of restricted access zones in designated areas of the coastal waters of the Far Eastern seas and ensure coastal protection, with combat deployment taking just a few minutes.

In the minefield clearing operations, ship minesweeper groups consisting of the minesweepers Anatoly Shlemov, Pyotr Ilyichev, and Yakov Balyayev, MT-265, as well as the base minesweepers BT-100 and BT-256, practiced mine detection and sweeping using contact and non-contact minesweeping gear, operating in different directions and in coordination with the Pacific Fleet's naval aviation. Mock mines identified on the water surface were eliminated by precision artillery fire, securing safe passage through mine-threatened areas along transit routes for various ship formations.

The maneuvers, aimed at defending the maritime borders, island zones, and coastal territories of Russia's Far East, include exercises in the waters of the Sea of Japan, the Sea of Okhotsk, and the Northwest Pacific.