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MOSCOW, February 16. /TASS/. Planned tactical flight exercises involving military aviation units of the air force and air defense formation stationed in the south of Russia have started in the country’s Southern Military District, the district’s press service reported on Tuesday.
"All in all, the exercise involves about 40 various aircraft, including the Sukhoi Su-24MR (NATO reporting name: Fencer-E) reconnaissance planes, Su-34 (Fullback) frontline bombers and Su-27 (Flanker) fighters," the report says.
The pilots will drill air reconnaissance, air cover missions and attacks at the maneuver enemy’s ground targets.
Crews of the Su-34 frontline bombers will drill pinpoint bombing against full-scale targets at the Kopanskoi aviation range in the Krasnodar region.
"The pilots will get the target data in the air from the Su-24MR reconnaissance planes’ crews that conducted airborne reconnaissance to identify camouflaged command posts and areas of the simulated enemy troops’ concentration immediately prior to tactical employment," the Southern Military District sources said.
Pilots of the Su-27 aircraft will conduct an air targets’ acquisition, search and track operation and drill pursuit-course air-to-air missile launches on the targets.