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Russia to employ Tu-22M3 bombers in joint drills with Uzbekistan on Afghan border

The drills will involve about 1,500 troops from Russia and Uzbekistan and run until August 10 in the area bordering on Afghanistan

MOSCOW, August 5. /TASS/. Tu-22M3 bombers of Russia’s Aerospace Force will participate in the joint Russian-Uzbek drills on the border with Afghanistan, the Defense Ministry of Russia reported on Thursday.

"Four Tu-22M3 supersonic missile-carrying bombers have redeployed to an operational airfield in the Saratov Region to participate in the joint Russian-Uzbek drills that will run at the Termez training ground in the Surkhandarya Region (the Republic of Uzbekistan) in early August," the statement says.

In the course of the drills, the Tu-22M3 bombers will take off from the airfield in the Saratov Region, make a flight to the Termez training ground and practice delivering multiple bombing strikes against militants’ notionally camouflaged camps and ammo depots, the ministry specified.

A pair of MiG-29 fighters of the Uzbek army’s air force and air defense troops will provide cover for the Russian bombers in the maneuvers, the statement says.

The drills will involve about 1,500 troops from Russia and Uzbekistan and run until August 10 in the area bordering on Afghanistan, the ministry said.

The Russian troops that will participate in the joint drills on the territory of Uzbekistan will mostly comprise peacekeepers and reconnaissance squads of a special operations brigade of the Central Military District, it said.

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