The flagship of Russia's Black Sea Fleet, the Moskva guided-missile cruiser, has successfully hit designated targets as part of a Navy exercise in the northern Atlantic Monday, a Navy spokesman said.

A Joint Naval Task Force, comprised of the Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier, the Udaloy-Class destroyers Admiral Levchenko and Admiral Chabanenko, as well as auxiliary vessels, is currently on a two-month tour of duty in the Mediterranean Sea and the North Atlantic.

"The missile system used for the launches has no match in performance terms," Capt. 1st Rank Igor Dygalo, an aide to the Navy commander, said.

The Moskva cruiser joined up with Russian warships in the Mediterranean on Friday to participate in ongoing maneuvers, including live missile launches against airborne and seaborne targets.

Russian warships will also practice interoperability with naval aviation and strategic bombers for several days.

The operation is the first large-scale Russian Navy exercise in the Atlantic for 15 years. All the warships and aircraft involved are carrying full combat ammunition loads, the Navy said.

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