Russia, Iran and China complete joint drills in Gulf of Oman

The practical part of an exercise involving ships of the Iranian, Chinese and Russian navies has been completed in the Gulf of Oman.

The Russian Defence Ministry told Interfax that the results of the exercise will be summarized in Chahbahar on March 14 and a closing ceremony will be held with the participation of servicemen from Iran, China, Russia, as well as observer countries - Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Oman, India and South Africa.

During two days of the exercise in the waters of the Gulf of Oman, Russian sailors worked out joint manoeuvring and communication exercises with colleagues from the Iranian and Chinese navies, firing large-calibre machine guns and small-calibre shipboard artillery at surface and air targets by day and night, as well as conducted a training operation to free a ship seized by pirates with the involvement of helicopters and landing inspection teams.

According to the Russian military, more than 20 ships, support vessels and combat boats of the Russian, Iranian and Chinese navies were involved in the exercise.