KAPUSTIN YAR PROVING GROUND /Astrakhan Region/, September 25. /TASS/. The Russian military used the experience gained in current armed conflicts, including the one in Syria, in practice while holding the strategic exercise Kavkaz-2020, the chief of Russia's General Staff, Valery Gerasimov, told a news briefing for foreign military attaches following the last drills on Friday.

"At the proving ground today you saw drills held in the zone of responsibility of the 58th Combined Arms Army. The experience of modern armed conflicts, including the one in the Syrian Arab Republic, was used as its basis. New modes of operation by troops and forces, tested in the process of combat training, were demonstrated," Gerasimov said.

He stressed that a new combat formation - mobile echelon - was shown in action alongside the performance of reconnaissance and fire systems and four main methods of eliminating suicide bomber vehicles.

In the final episode of the exercise some newest pieces of Russian military hardware were shown in action: air defense systems S-300V4 and Tor-M2, multiple rocket system Tornado-G, tank support combat vehicles Terminator, heavy flamethrowers TOS-2, attack drone Inokhodets, multirole fighter jets Sukhoi-30SM and fighter bombers Sukhoi-34 and helicopters Mi-28N and Ka-52.

Gerasimov said all drills were conducted in close cooperation with Russia's partners - military contingents from Armenia, Belarus, China, Myanmar and Pakistan. Also, in the Black and Caspian seas the Caspian Flotilla and Iranian Navy practiced combat training tasks to repel enemy air attacks. Five countries - Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Turkey - delegated their observers.

 

Kavkaz-2020 drills

 

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. 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.