Russia has joined several countries in international naval drills, hosted by Turkey, but which took place in the Black Sea. The goal of the Hawk 2015 military exercises is to improve cooperation between coastal guards and the borderline services of the countries with access to the body of water.
The four-day-long Black Sea Hawk 2015 military exercises kicked off in Turkish territorial waters off Istanbul's coast on Monday and will last until Thursday, Turkey’s Cihan news agency reported.
During the maneuvers, coast guards will take part in practice hostage release negotiations, fire extinguishing, and a helicopter rescue. The focus is joint response to emergencies.
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Turkey is participating with two coast guard corvettes, four coast guard boats, one coast guard CASA/IPTN CN-235 transport plane and three Bell 412 helicopters, as well as one special coast guard team and two security teams.
Russia was represented by one Rubin-class patrol boat, accompanied by Bulgarian and Romanian vessels – one border guard boat and an open sea maritime patrol ship, according to Ruptly video agency.
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On Thursday, Russian and China will start week-long naval drills in Peter the Great Bay in the Sea of Japan. Within the framework of an annual exchange program between the militaries of both countries, sailors, marines and naval air pilots will train together in an amphibious assault exercise.