This is the moment the Russian military launches a cruise missile from a submerged submarine in a training exercise.

The incident took place aboard a Russian military submarine called the Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky at a position in the Sea of Japan, to the east of Russia.

The training exercise footage shows the moment the missile is launched from the submarine. Images which appear to have been shot from a nearby vessel show the missile rising high into the sky.

The footage of the training exercise was shared online by the Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD), which said: “The newest diesel submarine ‘Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky’ launched a cruise missile of the ‘Caliber’ category at a ground target from a submerged position in the Sea of ​​Japan.”

The Russian MoD explained that the crew of the submarine had to perform complex calculations to ensure the success of the mission, saying: “The crew of the submarine, while performing the training task, conducted a set of trainings and exercises with the development of the algorithm of actions when conducting missile firing with high-precision weapons.”

The MoD said that the operation was a success, adding: “Immediately before the launch, the submariners made a tactical manoeuvre of a covert exit to the mission area. At the estimated time, the missile hit the coastal target position in the tactical field of Surkum. The firing range exceeded 1,000 kilometres (621 miles).

“Rocket fire was provided by ships and vessels of the Pacific Fleet, and aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles by the Pacific Fleet’s naval aviation.”