The ships made more than 5,000 nautical miles on the month-long voyage. Their planes and helicopters made more than a hundred takeoffs and landings, with 14 refuels, and a hundred exercises, reports Vice-Admiral Vladimir Dobroskochenko, group commander and second in command of the Russian Navy's Northern Fleet.
Northern Fleet warships have never appeared in that part of the ocean since 1995-96, he added.
The group coped to a T with its mission in an area vital for Russia-suffice it to mention pilots, who flew at the maximum range with no emergency airfields, says Colonel Nikolai Kuklev, group deputy commander for aviation.
Admiral Mikhail Zakharenko, second in command of the Russian Navy, congratulated the personnel on the supreme naval commander's behalf, to wish them further success.
Mikhail Abramov, fleet commander, gave the crews a roast pig-a long-established Northern Fleet custom to see in ships back to base.
The group comprised the "Admiral Kuznetsov" heavy aircraft carrier cruiser, the "Peter the Great" heavy nuclear missile-bearing cruiser, the "Marshal Ustinov" missile-bearing cruiser, the "Admiral Ushakov" destroyer, and three auxiliaries-the "Altai" rescue vessel, the "Osipov" tanker and the SB 406 rescue tug.
