MINSK, 2 September (BelTA) – Belarusian Defense Minister, Lieutenant-General Viktor Khrenin has evaluated performance of Belarusian units during the active phase of the CIS exercise Combat Commonwealth 2021 in the Russian exercise area Ashuluk, representatives of the Belarusian Defense Ministry told BelTA.
The defense minister said: “Our military personnel traditionally participate in the joint air defense exercise Combat Commonwealth, which is arranged for the armed forces of the countries participating in the CIS air defense system. It is important for us: we practice firing live ammunition in order to be confident in our weapons and in order to reliably protect the CIS air space on the western border.”
It is not the first year the Belarusian Defense Ministry has used exercise areas of allied countries. A tactical exercise involving Belarusian units took place in the Russian exercise area Ashuluk in anticipation of the Combat Commonwealth exercise. The defense minister noted that teams operating air defense systems Buk fired at targets imitating modern air assault weapons. The performance of the target was on the edge of capabilities of the air defense system but the team did the job well. “It means our military personnel are trained well,” Viktor Khrenin stated.
“I cannot but mention our pilots. It was the first time they had fired an R-27 missile from a Su-30SM aircraft in this situation. The launches were successful. This medium-range missile was modernized by Belarusian enterprises and demonstrated great precision,” the official stressed. “As for the Combat Commonwealth exercise itself and the level of training the military personnel demonstrated, I can say that instrumental data and visual observation showed that all the missiles hit their targets. It means a lot. As the head of the Defense Ministry I am pleased with the result.”
