Center-2019 strategic command and staff exercises will involve units of seven foreign states, the press service of the Russian Defense Ministry reports. The maneuvers will be attended by servicemen of Uzbekistan, China, Pakistan, India, as well as three countries participating in the Collective Security Treaty Organization (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan).
The active phase of the exercises will be held from September 16 to 21. 128 thousand troops, more than 20 thousand units of military equipment, about 600 aircraft and up to 15 ships will be involved in maneuvers.
The base of the grouping will be the troops of the Central Military District (CVO), including the 2nd Guards Combined Arms Army. In addition, units of other military districts will be involved in the exercises. For example, engineering units of the Western Military District (ZVO) will take part in Center 2019. They will be transferred to the Central Military District for equipment across the Volga "the longest ferry and pontoon service in Russia."
Ships of the Caspian flotilla will be involved in the exercises. They will facilitate land units, defense of communications and areas of maritime economic activity. However, most of the tasks on the Center-2019 maneuvers will be worked out on the ground - at the training centers of the Central Military District and the CSTO member states.
- Teachings of the Central Military District
- © Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation
“The main actions of the troops (forces) will take place at six combined arms ranges" Totsky "," Donguz "," Adanak "," Chebarkulsky "," Yurginsky "," Aleysky "and the ranges of the air force and air defense forces" Ashuluk "," Safakulevo "in the territory Russian Federation. According to separate plans, episodes of the fight against illegal armed groups will be worked out at the training grounds of the partner states, ”the Russian Defense Ministry said.
As the military department clarifies, up to 12,950 people will be involved at the Donguz, Totsky, Adanak training grounds, of which 10,700 are Russian military personnel, and the rest are representatives of foreign armies. Also, 250 tanks, 450 infantry fighting vehicles and armored personnel carriers, and up to 200 multiple launch rocket systems will be involved in the development of tasks.
Necessary interaction
Center exercises are held in Russia every four years. The maneuvers of 2015 involved 95 thousand military personnel, more than 7 thousand units of military equipment, up to 170 aircraft and 20 ships. They were attended by units of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Ministry of Emergencies, FSB, FSO, FSKN and the armed forces of the CSTO member countries.
Retired Colonel Mikhail Khodarenok in an interview with RT praised the active participation of foreign forces in Center-2019 maneuvers. According to him, during the international exercises there is always an exchange of experience and the strengthening of ties between the military-technical cooperation.
“Interaction with our CSTO partners is carried out every year, dozens of tactical exercises are held. This is necessary to ensure the security of the southern borders of our country. If we talk about exercises with China, Pakistan and India, then, probably, sharing experience and strengthening friendly ties is more important, ”said Khodarenok.
In addition, the expert drew attention to the fact that the international format of strategic exercises is a kind of advertising of domestic weapons. For convenience, foreign military personnel often use domestic military equipment at the training grounds. Thus, they get the opportunity to check its quality and reliability.
A similar point of view is shared by professor of the Academy of Military Sciences, senior researcher at the Center for Political Studies of Russia Vadim Kozyulin. The expert emphasized that international exercises contribute to the promotion of Russian weapons in foreign markets.
“China, India and Pakistan are major buyers of Russian military equipment. It is very likely that military-technical cooperation with them will reach a new level. To a large extent this is facilitated by the exercises organized by the RF Ministry of Defense. In addition, foreigners are interested in the specifics of the military service of the Russian army. Maybe someone decides to get an education at our universities or the General Staff Academy, ”says Kozyulin.
The Center-2019 exercises will be held in two stages. At the first, the military control bodies of the Central Military District should prepare the troops to repel the aggression of illegal armed groups. On the second - a "massive fire strike" will be inflicted on the conditional enemy. After that, Russian troops and allied units will go on the offensive.
A number of tasks will be carried out in the Arctic. In particular, military personnel will experience military equipment specially designed for combat duty in the climatic conditions of the Arctic. The gas turbine T-80BV tank and several all-terrain vehicles will be tested.
- Joint strategic exercises of Belarus and Russia “West-2017”
- RIA News
- © Evgeny Biyatov
The plans of the Russian military aroused concern in Oslo. The teachings in the Arctic zone of Norwegian authorities perceived as evidence of "the increasingly aggressive behavior of the northern neighbor."
“Norwegian dissatisfaction has nothing to do with reality. Most likely, we are witnessing the on-duty manifestation of anti-Russian rhetoric. The Center-2019 exercises, like other major maneuvers, are planned. Their main goal is to verify the operational and combat training of the troops of the Central Military District. They do not threaten any foreign states, ”explained Kozyulin.
The expert recalled that last year Norway hosted the largest NATO exercises since 2002, called the Trident Juncture (“Single Trident”). They were attended by 45 thousand people, 150 aircraft, 60 ships and 10 thousand armored vehicles. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the maneuvers were carried out with the aim of practicing the rapid deployment of American troops across Europe.
“The scale of operational and combat training at our borders is expanding, and their intensity is growing. The countries of the bloc are fulfilling the tasks of conducting hostilities of an offensive nature, ”Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu commented on the NATO exercises.
“Meets operational needs”
Currently, the preparation of the Center-2019 exercises is in its final stages. In mid-August, the Chief of the General Staff of the RF Armed Forces, Army General Valery Gerasimov checked the infrastructure of the Donguz training ground in the Orenburg region, where conditional military operations would take place in the second half of September.
Experts interviewed by RT believe that Russia has developed a coherent system for conducting large-scale exercises. In 2016, the Caucasus hosted the command and staff maneuvers in the Russian Federation, in the West - in 2017, and the East in 2018. Thus, the RF Ministry of Defense consistently checks the level of combat and operational training of military districts.
“The annual large-scale exercises are in line with the operational needs of the Russian army and the financial capabilities of our state. We must not forget that large-scale exercises are accompanied by significant costs for fuel, ammunition, laying communication lines, the construction of engineering structures and so on. To conduct large exercises more than once a year is an excessive measure in the current conditions, ”said Kozyulin.
Mikhail Khodarenok believes that constantly undergoing major exercises can improve the level of professionalism of the Russian military. In his opinion, the existing system of operational and combat training in Russia is adequate to modern challenges and threats to national security.
“Only two states are natural for an army: it is either at war or preparing for war. As the armed forces prepare for military operations in peacetime, so they will fight. You need to understand that in the event of a real collision with the enemy, miracles do not occur. The army is fighting as it learned. The result of combat training is clearly visible on the example of a successful Syrian operation. Therefore, annual strategic exercises are an obvious boon for our army, ”summarized Khodarenok.