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SCO drills to use over 70 artillery and missile systems, says Russian military

The drills are in progress on September 20-24 at the Donguz proving ground

© Sergei Medvedev/TASS

YEKATERINBURG, September 21. /TASS/. Military personnel will utilize more than 70 artillery and missile systems in fulfilling missions to combat illegal armed units at the Peace Mission-2021 counter-terror exercises among members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization taking place in the Orenburg Region, the Central Military District’s press service said on Tuesday.

The drills are in progress on September 20-24 at the Donguz proving ground. Peace Mission-2021 will involve about 5,500 servicemen and over 1,200 pieces of weaponry, military and special vehicles.

"Within the framework of the exercise, a joint group of missile troops and artillery has been set up, based on two self-propelled howitzers, and jet artillery divisions from motorized rifle and artillery brigades of the Central Military District, stationed in the Orenburg Region, as well as artillery units from the People’s Liberation Army of China. Russia’s 152-mm heavy self-propelled artillery guns Msta-S and the 120-mm Hosta, the Shturm-S anti-tank missile systems, Grad multiple rocket launchers, along with Chinese PLL-09 122-mm self-propelled howitzers will be in service during the drills," the report says.

The artillery units will practice the tasks of coalition forces to rout large outlawed armed gangs, destroy equipment, suppress machine-gun nests, and position protective fire. It is planned to use more than 4,500 various types of ammunitions, including rocket, high-explosive fragmentation, lighting projectiles, as well as anti-tank missiles.

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