MOSCOW: Russia's navy conducted test flights near the North Pole on Thursday, boosting its military presence in an area believed to contain vast quantities of oil and natural gas.
Cpt. Vladimir Serga, a naval spokesman, said that Il-38 anti-submarine bombers and Tu-142 long-range strategic bombers of the Northern Fleet took part in the exercise, in which the planes' crews tested radio and weapons systems management equipment.
Serga described the exercise as successful.
The flights come two days after a Russian missile cruiser began patrols in the Arctic.
The Marshal Ustinov, a nuclear-capable missile cruiser, was deployed Tuesday in the Arctic area "to provide for the safety of Russia's shipping industry," the navy said in a statement.
AP
