Geography of the exercise – from the Baltic to the Arctic
The strategic exercises “West -2021” are gaining momentum. The troops simultaneously operate in land and naval theater operations in various regions of the country – from the Kaliningrad region to the Arctic Sea. In total, over 200,000 repairmen from Russia and Belarus are involved.
11. In September, the gunners of the Northern Fleet destroyed a simulated group of enemy ships in the Barents Sea. The operation involved the destroyer Admiral Ushakov, the frigate Admiral Kasatonov fleet, as well as battalions of coastal missile systems Bal and Bastion deployed on the Kola Peninsula. The shooting was carried out at a distance of more than 100 kilometers.
In the Baltic Sea, the crew of the diesel-electric submarine “Dmitrov” attacked the detachment of imaginary enemy ships. The shooting was carried out with four training torpedoes.
Paratroopers solved no less difficult tasks. Their subdivision practiced the landing of tactical airborne attack forces at Savasleika Airport in the Nizhny Novgorod region. The landing without a parachute was made using ropes and launchers from army aircraft helicopters, as well as the method of landing.
A total of four thousand airborne units participate in the West exercise. The subunits of the Pskov and Tula airborne divisions will land at the Zhitovo landing site in the Ryazan area, Pravdinsky in the Kaliningrad region, and Sakhara at the Brestsky training ground in Belarus. In the Ryazan region, a BMD-4M airborne combat vehicle will be deployed for the first time.
In total, over 300 Il-76MD aircraft and one An-26 aircraft will be landed at the landing site of Zhitovo by over 300 soldiers of the Russian airborne forces and 20 paratroopers of the Indian armed forces of about 40 combat vehicles.
For the first time in the history of airborne forces, airborne units landed at night using night vision devices. 600 paratroopers and nine combat vehicles landed at Kislovo near Pskov.
After landing, the paratroopers captured the landing area of the mock enemy and made a 100-kilometer march to the Strugi Krasnye training ground, where they carried out the mock battle.
Tank subunits at the Mulino training ground have developed new methods of tank combat. The crews of T-72B3 tanks emerged from enemy fire under the veil of smoke screens, luring their main forces into the depths of defense to engage at a distance of up to 1,500 meters.
Electronic warfare (EW) calculations will show how to destroy drones based on Syrian experience. More than 300 EW specialists and more than 50 special vehicles were involved, including the Krasukha-S4, Krasukha-2.0, Zhitel and Borisoglebsk complexes.
Soldiers use combat robots on the M platform on a crawler chassis armed with four grenade launchers and a Kalashnikov machine gun, as well as drones “Orlan”, “Forpost”, “Tachyon”.
to prevent unauthorized entry into the protected area.
A “quasi-ballistic” missile of the operational and tactical missile system Iskander-M will be launched. The goal is a deepened command post of the simulated enemy at a distance of over 100 kilometers.
The exercise involved a total 80 aircraft and helicopters: Su-35S, Su-30SM, MiG-31BM, Su-34 bombers, Mi-8 multi-role helicopters of various modifications, reconnaissance and attack helicopters Mi-28 Night Hunter, Ka-52 Alligator and Mi 35.