MOSCOW, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- More than 4,000 troops with 500 pieces of military hardware, 15 aircraft and several combat ships participated in major drills of the Russian Pacific Fleets marines, which have finished in the Russian far eastern peninsula of Kamchatka, the Russian Defense Ministry said Tuesday.

During the practical exercises, the marines prevented an amphibious forces landing on the Pacific coast, while servicemen from the Primorsky region practiced landing from an An-26 aircraft, capturing and holding an airfield of a conditional enemy, it said in a statement.

Three firing exercises were successfully carried out during the drills with Grad multiple launch rocket systems, T-80BV tanks and self-propelled Gvozdika and Nona howitzers.

During the naval aviation exercises, the crews of MiG-31 fighters practiced piloting at low and medium altitudes in the zones of sea and airborne assault forces landing zones.

Ka-29 transport and assault helicopters were used during the exercise launching unguided missiles against targets on the Pacific coast.

The drills were monitored by Orlan-10 and Forpost unmanned aerial vehicles, while the overall coordination was carried out from ground command posts and a command post on the Marshal Krylov tracking ship, the ministry's statement said.