Surprise drills begin in Kazakh Air Assault Forces and Air Defense Forces
ASTANA. Nov 8 (Interfax) - Units of Kazakhstan's Air Assault Forces and Air Defense Forces have been put on high alert as part of surprise exercises, the Kazakh Defense Ministry's press service said.
"Surprise exercises have been launched in the Air Assault Forces dedicated to the subject of "Putting formations and units on high alert, organizing their redeployment to a crisis-stricken district, as well as preparing and conducting a special-purpose army operation"," it said.
During the drills, military hardware has been sent to the districts where columns will be formed, and the forces will have to cover long distances in a combined fashion to reach the training ranges, the press service said.
The exercises involve around 5,000 personnel, some 500 weapons and units of military hardware, as well as more than 20 airplanes and helicopters, it said.
"The main goals of the exercises include inspecting the state of the combat preparedness and the capability of the command center and the forces to fulfill the tasks of preparing and conducting a special-purpose army operation, arranging interaction between units and formations of different branches of the armed forces, as well as updating the methods and ways of conducting a special-purpose army operation," it said.
The exercises are due to continue until November 11.
