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Russian strategic bombers deliver air strikes in post-Soviet security bloc’s drills

According to the scenario a Sukhoi Su-24 detected bases and columns of illegal armed formations and a pair of Tu-22M3 bombers dropped 250kg high-explosive fragmentation bombs

The Tupolev Tu-22M3M Egor Aleyev/TASS

The Tupolev Tu-22M3M

© Egor Aleyev/TASS

KANT AIRBASE /Kyrgyzstan/, October 13. /TASS/. Russian Tupolev Tu-22M3 long-range supersonic missile-carrying bombers practiced delivering air strikes against a notional enemy’s force in the Interaction-2018 drills of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) in Kyrgyzstan, Russia’s Central Military District reported on Saturday.

According to the scenario of the drills of the CSTO Collective Rapid Reaction Forces underway at the Edelveis practice range, a Sukhoi Su-24 detected bases and columns of illegal armed formations and a pair of Tu-22M3 bombers dropped 250kg high-explosive fragmentation bombs, the press office of Russia’s Central Military District reported,.

The Interaction-2018 drills of the CSTO Collective Rapid Reaction Forces are underway at the Edelveis practice range in Kyrgyzstan on October 10-13. They involve more than 1,600 troops from six countries: Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan, and also about 300 pieces of military hardware and 40 aircraft and helicopters.

The Russian contingent in the Interaction-2018 drills is represented by a separate motorized infantry (mountain) brigade of the Central Military District based in Tuva, the Airborne Force and Special Operations forces.

Russia’s air component in the drills is represented by tactical and army aviation aircraft that have been deployed to Kyrgyzstan from Siberia and the Urals.

A Tu-22M3 bomber with a crew of four is designated to strike targets in the strategic depth of the enemy territory. The bomber develops a maximum speed of 2,300 km/h and has an operating range of 7,000 km.

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