MOSCOW, October 11. /TASS/. Over 3,000 motorized infantry troops and a wing of Ka-52 attack helicopters from Russia’s Eastern Military District routed an overwhelming enemy force during a live-fire exercise near Khabarovsk in the Russian Far East, the District’s press office reported on Friday.
"The rout of a notional enemy’s overwhelming forces concluded the live-fire stage of the tactical drills involving the personnel of a motor rifle unit of the Eastern Military District stationed in the Khabarovsk Region. The combat training exercise at the Knyaze-Volkonsky firing range included over 3,000 troops, about 350 items of military hardware, a wing of Ka-52 strike helicopters and Su-25 attack aircraft," the press office said in a statement.
"Taking into account the experience of present-day armed conflicts, the motor rifle troops acted as part of reconnaissance and firing contours and special attention was paid to inter-operability of the units," the statement says.
The troops employed Orlan-10 unmanned aerial vehicles to conduct reconnaissance and transmit data in real time. The crews of T-72B tanks and BMP-2 infantry fighting vehicles practiced defensive tactics. Jointly with them, motorized infantry units delivered fire from their organic small arms, including large-caliber machine-guns. The teams of RPG-7V and AGS-17 Plamya grenade launchers and Sani mortars provided fire support for the defending force.
At the distant approaches, the advancing enemy was crushed by the crews of Gvozdika self-propelled howitzers and Grad multiple launch rocket systems. The enemy’s armor was wiped out by the operators of Fagot man-portable anti-tank missile systems. The crews of Ka-52 ‘Alligator’ strike helicopters delivered air strikes against the notional enemy’s command post, reserves and artillery positions. In order to prevent a counter air strike, the crews of Shilka anti-aircraft guns and the operators of Igla portable surface-to-air missile systems struck the targets that simulated the enemy’s helicopters and strike/reconnaissance drones.
The command also employed electronic warfare troops with Borisoglebsk-2 jammers to block the enemy’s communications channel and disrupt its control system, the press office of the Eastern Military District said.