Northern Fleet anti-submarine aircraft crews detected and destroyed a simulated enemy nuclear submarine in the Barents Sea during the Zapad-2025 exercises, the Russian Defense Ministry reported.
“As part of the Zapad-2025 joint strategic exercise, Northern Fleet anti-submarine aircraft conducted a search and destruction exercise against a simulated enemy nuclear submarine in the Barents Sea. Tu-142 and Il-38 long-range anti-submarine aircraft, as well as Ka-27M shipborne anti-submarine helicopters, were involved in this large-scale anti-submarine operation,” the statement reads.
The Russian military department clarified that the role of the simulated enemy was played by one of the Northern Fleet’s nuclear submarines.
“Tu-142 and Il-38 aircraft deployed sonar buoys in a designated area. These sonar buoys, which operate in various frequency ranges, created a broad acoustic field, enabling the detection and classification of the underwater object and the pinpointing of the “target’s” coordinates. The resulting information on the simulated enemy submarine’s location was transmitted in real time to Ka-27M helicopters, which then tracked the target,” the ministry reported.