The Su-33 carrier-based fighters carried out a slew of 300-kilometer-long flights from the Admiral Kuznetsov carrier during the Syrian mission in the Mediterranean Sea, Russian Navy Chief of Staff Vice Admiral Andrei Volozhinsky said at a roundtable dedicated to the Russian military’s activities in Syria.

"While fulfilling combat tasks, the MiG-29k/KUB and Su-33 aircraft were tested," he said. "In order to hit targets located at a distance of more than 300 kilometers in the Damascus and Deir-ez-Zor areas, Su-33 fighters used," the vice admiral noted.

At the same time, the MiG-29K/KUB aircraft carried out air strikes on targets located near Idlib, Aleppo, and Palmyra.

The aircraft deployed to the Admiral Kuznetsov carrier conducted over 400 combat flights, destroying around 1,300 targets of the Islamic State terror group (outlawed in Russia).

"During military operations in Syria, Russian naval forces were for the first time used on such a (large) scale since World War II, that the Navy gained experience in using carrier-based aircraft," Volozhinsky stressed.

Besides, the navy tried out the Kalibr sea-based cruise missiles, and trained to rapidly deploy equipment outside Russia using landing craft.

"We also tested the use of anti-submarine forces and equipment in actual combat situation. The Russian Navy’s activities in Syria have proved that the decision to set up a naval facility in Syria’s Tartus was a right one," the Navy chief concluded.