BARANOVICHI, 1 July (BelTA) – A ceremony to put Su-30SM fighter jets on standby posture to protect Belarus' borders took place at the 61st fighter airbase on 1 July, BelTA has learned.
Belarusian Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin noted: “Today is a remarkable day for the personnel of the 61st airbase: the latest aircraft – Su-30SM – are put on standby posture to defend the skies. It is symbolical that the event took place on the eve of Independence Day and in the year of the 75th anniversary of the Victory. Efforts to reliably ensure national security have always been crucial to the wellbeing of any country. The idea has never been more topical. History teaches us that any peace-loving policy should be propped by the real capability of the state to protect its people.”
Su-30SM is a heavy multirole fighter jet. It is designed for aerial fights, for securing supremacy in air, for destroying aerial targets at any time of the day and night in any weather while having to deal with active and passive jamming. The 61st airbase received the first batch of the supermaneuverable fighter jets last autumn. The pilots completed theoretical training and practical training on a tight schedule and can successfully fly on their own now.
The Belarusian defense minister stressed that the Air Force regularly gets modern hardware, including within the framework of cooperation with Russia. In his words, today's event confirms tight cooperation in military affairs between the two countries. Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Russia to Belarus Dmitry Mezentsev added that Belarus-Russia cooperation covers dozens of avenues. He said he was confident that cooperation in the military and technology sphere would continue.
The standby posture assignment order was read out by Yuri Pyzhik, commanding officer of the airbase. The young generation of pilots mastered flying a most complicated type of aircraft on a tight schedule. “It testifies that the Belarusian Air Force pilot training school is effective. We cannot but be concerned about ongoing processes, the increasing military activity near our state borders in the last few years. We are excited that capabilities of modern hardware increase as well. This is why it was decided to buy Su-30SM aircraft and assign them to combat duty,” Viktor Khrenin stressed.
The Air Force pilots demonstrated their flying skills by performing a number of aerobatic maneuvers. The airbase commanding officer noted: “The aircraft is unique from the point of view of piloting parameters. It allows the pilot to perform aerobatic maneuvers within a small radius at low speeds. It secures victory in an aerial engagement.”
There are plans to deploy more Su-30SM fighter jets at the Baranovichi airbase in the future.
