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Russian pilots’ combat training changed in light of Syrian experience — military official

Colonel-General Viktor Bondarev said that the cadets practice new methods and ways of carrying out strikes against ground targets on the basis of Syrian developments

MOSCOW, August 11. /TASS/. The combat training of Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS) pilots has been changed with due account for the experience that has been gained in Syria, VKS Commander-in-Chief, Hero of Russia, Colonel-General Viktor Bondarev said in an interview with the Rossiya 24 TV channel ahead of Aerospace Forces Day.

"We have made some amendments to combat training plans following work in Syria and amended training programs for the cadets. Naturally, combat training in our centers has changed as well. We practice new methods and ways of carrying out strikes against ground targets on the basis of Syrian developments," he said.

Bondarev stresed that Russian aircraft achieved "excellent results" in Syria. He recalled that the Syrian campaign revealed both pros and cons of the aviation equipment, which were analyzed in collaboration with the industry.

"Virtually any unguided weapons are used in the same way as the guided ones by means of weapons systems on an aircraft or a helicopter. That is why the results speak for themselves: the maximum deviation is two or three meters," the commander-in-chief noted.

"No civilians have been affected by the Russian Aerospace Forces’ sorties. We only destroy gunmen of the ISIL (former name of the Islamic State terror group, outlawed in Russia - TASS)," he stressed.