MOSCOW, August 4. /TASS/. Crews of the Pantsir-S surface-to-air missile and anti-aircraft artillery weapon systems have carried out firing drills at the Ashuluk range in the Astrakhan region, South Russia, within the framework of preparations for the anti-aircraft gunners’ Keys to the Sky contest of the International Army Games, the Russian Defense Ministry press service reported on Thursday.

"Combat crews of the Pantsir-S anti-aircraft missile and gun systems within the competition have had firing drills to protect the S-300 air defense missile systems from a simulated enemy’s aerial attack," the ministry said in a release, received by TASS on Thursday.

The Pantsir-S crews fired on the move the air defense guided missiles on low-flying aerial targets, as well as destroyed a simulated subversive group by the gun armaments.

The international competition Keys to the Sky is held from July 31 to August 5 within the framework of the International Army Games. The teams of Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus and China are the contest participants. Each team’s air defense missile combat crew comprises 17 men. All the teams operate Russia’s S-300PS and S-300PM Favorit air defense missile systems.

The International Army Games are held between July 30 and August 13 simultaneously at 20 training grounds, where 19 of them are at three Russia’s military districts: Western, Southern and Central: from Siberia to Kaliningrad in the west and from St. Petersburg to Sevastopol in Crimea.

The largest teams are from China and Kazakhstan. The Chinese military take part in 22 competitions, and the team from Kazakhstan - in 21. The Russian team is involved in all the 23 competitions.