MINSK, August 22. /TASS/. Belarusian pilots launched short-and medium-range missiles for the first time from Su-30SM fighters during military exercises at Russia’s Ashuluk training range (in Astrakhan Region), said Belarusian Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin, who observed the exercise.
"Today we have for the first time tested the capabilities of the Tor-M2 anti-aircraft missile system, whose crews made combat launches on the move. The launches were successful. Also for the first time, pilots of Su-30SM aircraft carried out launches of short-and medium-range missiles," the Defense Ministry's Telegram channel quotes Khrenin as saying.
"Combat launches are of great importance. Not only to verify the equipment’s capabilities, but also to gain combat experience from our Russian colleagues," he said. The recent incident involving the flight of drones through Belarusian territory showed that "our crews within the framework of the combat training, which is organized and conducted with the anti-aircraft missile forces, are ready to perform combat tasks."
"We saw all these drones during their approach. When they entered the kill zone - they were destroyed," Khrenin recalled.
He added that the exercise was "a test for the coherence of the entire air defense system."
"When the anti-aircraft missile forces, radio-technical forces and aviation work together, then we can say that the system is viable, in our case - combat-ready. Our servicemen demonstrated this today," the Belarusian Defense Minister concluded.