Russian Missile Cruiser to Conduct Live Fire Drills in Rare Visit to South China Sea

The flagship of Russia’s Black Sea fleet is currently in the South China Sea with plans to conduct air defense and “rocket, artillery and torpedo weapons,” drills in a rare visit to the region, according to an announcement issued Wednesday by the Russian Ministry of Defense.

The 11,500-ton Slava-class cruiser Moscow (or Moskva) left Singapore after a port call to conduct the training exercises in an unspecified area of the South China Sea in the last few days, read a translation of the statement.

The ship — based on a 1970s era design and commissioned in 1983 — was built to be crewed by almost 500 and is centered around 16 massive P-500 (SS-N-12 Sandbox) anti-ship cruise missiles, giving the ship a distinctive saw toothed look.

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