MOSCOW, 19 September (BelTA) – Tank units of the Western Military District of the Russian army fought off an assault of the imaginary enemy in the Osipovichsky exercise area as part of the Belarusian-Russian strategic army exercise Zapad 2017, the press service of the Western Military District told BelTA.
According to the source, the Russian troops managed to hold on to the front line of defense and fought off an attempt of the enemy to break through the line deep into the defensive perimeter of the Union State of Belarus and Russia. The assault was accompanied by artillery fire, attack aircraft, complex ambushes using T-80 combat tanks and BMP-2 armored fighting vehicles, and a system of minefields.
The Russian tankmen resorted to the tank carousel tactics: three T-80 tanks fired continuously after emerging in a new location from behind sandy hills after each shot. The tanks were backed by 152mm self-properly artillery units Giatsint and Msta-S.
Belarusian drones Busel and Berkut were used to detect concentrated hardware and personnel of the imaginary enemy. The detection was shortly followed by bombardment from Russian multiple-launch rocket systems BM-21 Grad and Tornado-G. Belarusian army units delivered their payload using multiple-launch rocket systems (MLRS) Smerch and Polonez.
The Belarusian-Russian strategic army exercise Zapad 2017 began on 14 September to end on 20 September. In Belarus the regular army exercise areas Lepelsky, Borisovsky, Losvido, Osipovichsky, and the Air Force exercise areas Ruzhansky and Domanovo are used for the exercise in addition to two regular sectors of terrain in Vitebsk Oblast — Dretun and Glubokoye. In Russia the army exercise areas Luzhsky, Strugi Krasnyye, and Pravdinsky in Kaliningrad Oblast, Leningrad Oblast, and Pskov Oblast are used for the exercise.
Some 12,700 military personnel are taking part in the Zapad 2017 exercise. About 10,200 personnel are deployed in Belarus (slightly more than 7,000 people from Belarus and about 3,000 troops from Russia). The Belarusian part of the exercise will also involve a total of 370 armored vehicles, including about 140 combat tanks. Up to 150 artillery units and multiple-launch rocket systems, over 40 aircraft and helicopters will be deployed as well.
