Russian warships will be equipped with NATO navigation and communications systems to improve coordination in anti-piracy missions around the world, first of all in the Gulf of Aden, Chief of the Russian General Staff Nikolay Makarov said to RIA Novosti.
The issue was up for discussion at a meeting of the NATO-Russia Council in Brussels. “We decided to install standard NATO navigation and communications systems on our ships,” Makarov said, adding that this will be of great help in counter-piracy missions together with NATO vessels.
Russia joined the international anti-piracy mission off the Somali coast in 2008. Russian warships have successfully escorted more than 130 commercial vessels from various countries since then.
Task forces from the Russian Navy, usually led by Udaloy class destroyers, operate in the area on a rotating basis. A task force from Russia’s Northern Fleet, led by the Udaloy class destroyer “Vice Admiral Kulakov”, will arrive in the Gulf of Aden in the beginning of May to join the anti-piracy mission.
Earlier the Northern Fleet’s vessels “Peter Veliky”, “Severomorsk”, “Admiral Chabanenko” and “Admiral Levchenko” have participated in anti-piracy missions in the Gulf of Aden.
