MOSCOW, May 28. /TASS/. Crews of Mi-8MTV5-1 transport-combat and Mi-24 attack helicopters from an air group of Russia’s 201st military base practiced hunting down and eliminating a notional enemy during drills in mountains of Tajikistan, the press office of the Central Military District reported on Tuesday.
"The crews practiced reconnoitering enemy forces and capabilities in hard-to-access high mountains. In the airspace of the Lyaur practice range, the crews conducted notional launches of S-8 air-to-surface rockets against the simulated enemy’s massed equipment and manpower," the press office said in a statement.
The helicopter crews also practiced piloting skills in passing through mountain gorges, flying over peaks and rocky areas and landing helicopters on sites located at an altitude of up to 3,000 meters above sea level, it said.
The 201st military base stationed in Tajikistan is Russia’s largest military facility outside its borders. The military base is stationed in the cities of Dushanbe and Bokhtar. The military base comprises motor rifle, armored, artillery and reconnaissance units, air defense forces, radiation, chemical and biological protection and signal troops.
Under an agreement signed in October 2012, Russia’s military base in Tajikistan will remain until 2042.