Western MD aviation holds large-scale exercise
MOSCOW. March 19 (Interfax-AVN) - A large-scale aviation exercise has begun in the Western Military District (WMD), during which bomber- and fighter-aircraft pilots will practice interaction in join training tasks and at one stage will also act as each other's enemies, WMD spokesman Col. Oleg Kochetkov told Interfax-AVN on Wednesday.
"During the exercise squadrons of crews operating Sukhoi Su-34 frontline bombers from the Voronezh region and Su-24Ms from the Murmansk region will fly to emergency airfields in the Republic of Karelia," he said.
At the training sites in the Tver and Leningrad regions, the crews will practice skills by bombarding targets imitating an enemy military motorcade and providing fire support for the advancing motor rifle and tank units, he said. During flights to the training site the bombers will be covering the Su-27 fighters.
The performance of the bombers' tasks will be compounded by counteraction on the part of electronic warfare units, air defense weapons, and attacks by the enemy's fighter jets simulated by Mikoyan MiG-31 interceptors from the Tver region.
The exercise will involve a total of over 40 Su-34, Su-27, Su-24M, and MiG-31 crews, as well as Antonov An-12 and An-26 transport aircraft from the four WMD aviation regiments, over 300 commanders, flight specialists and engineers.
This is a routine exercise that will last until the end of March.