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Military drills

Swarm of drones used in Kavkaz-2020 exercise first time against enemy forces

The drones are capable of spotting military units on the move, command centers, weapons, military equipment and manpower to adjust fire strikes being delivered against the identified targets, according to the top brass

Orlan-10 drone Vadim Savitsky/Russian Defense Ministry Press Office/TASS

Orlan-10 drone

© Vadim Savitsky/Russian Defense Ministry Press Office/TASS

MOSCOW, September 24. /TASS/. Three models of drones - Forpost, Orlan-10 and Eleron-3 - were pooled into one group for participation in drills during the command and staff exercise Kavkaz-2020, the Russian Defense Ministry told the media on Thursday.

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"At the Kapustin Yar proving ground a combined group of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) was created. It incorporated Southern Military District units armed with drones Forpost, Orlan-10, Eleron-3 and others," the Defense Ministry said.

UAVs are used at altitudes ranging from 100 meters to 5,000 meters for exposing the enemy’s defenses and hitting ground targets.

The drones are capable of spotting military units on the move, command centers, weapons, military equipment and manpower to adjust fire strikes being delivered against the identified targets. Also, they are an integral element of radio-electronic warfare.

The Kavkaz-2020 drills, running from September 21- 26, led by Chief of the General Staff Army General Valery Gerasimov, are underway in Russia’s Southern Military District and in the Black and Caspian Seas. The exercise involves about 80,000 personnel, including officers from the Russian Emergencies Ministry and the Russian National Guard. Furthermore, this is a multinational endeavor which includes up to 1,000 servicemen from Armenia, Belarus, China, Myanmar and Pakistan. Representatives from Azerbaijan, Indonesia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Sri Lanka are participating as observers, according to the Russian Defense Ministry. In addition, Russia’s top brass said that roughly 250 tanks, up to 450 mechanized infantry fighting vehicles and APCs, as well as up to 200 artillery systems and multiple-launch rocket systems were set to be used in the exercise on firing grounds. About 12,900 troops are going to take part in activities in line with the 2011 Vienna Document of the Negotiations on Confidence-and Security-Building Measures.

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