When the red flare crossed a white line between the dry grass and the blue sky at the "Dongguzi" shooting range, I knew that the combined training with live ammunition had officially started.
There was a whistling sound of the aircraft engine quickly approaching from behind, and I hurriedly stretched the lens focal length to the farthest to capture the moment when a foreign fighter jet passed overhead.
On September 15, local time, the "Peace Mission-2021" joint military exercise held the first live ammunition exercise at the "Dongguz" shooting range in Orenburg, Russia.
The picture shows participating helicopters flying in formation.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Li Chun
Although the troops of various countries participating in the "Peace Mission-2021" SCO joint counter-terrorism military exercise had already conducted a joint exercise of actual forces on the previous day, the joint exercise before the afternoon of the 15th was the first during the joint exercise. This time the "real knives and guns" were placed in battle, and the ammunition was actually consumed.
Tanks, planes, lure the enemy, attack, plan, summarize...Although it is a joint training, the elements, links, and procedures of the actual operations are all available, full of gunpowder.
On September 15, local time, the "Peace Mission-2021" joint military exercise held the first live ammunition exercise at the "Dongguz" shooting range in Orenburg, Russia.
The picture shows the joint training site.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Li Chun
Just after 8 am, we climbed onto the back hood of the Chinese troop carrier.
The driver's squad leader told him to sit as close to the front of the car as possible, "the road will be a bit bumpy."
When the engine started, I squatted on the empty ammunition box and supported my curled legs one after the other, barely maintaining my balance, still thinking about what to shoot in my mind.
After about 20 minutes of jolts and shaking, the vehicle stopped in front of the viewing platform.
In terms of joint command, this joint exercise established a joint director department and a joint counter-terrorism cluster command: the former is responsible for clarifying the initial battlefield situation and counter-terrorism combat missions, and issuing joint counter-terrorism combat orders as the “core of maintaining stability”; the latter is responsible for Analyzing and judging the situation, drawing up an anti-terrorism combat plan, and directing troops to carry out actual operations can be regarded as the "brain for decision-making."
On the battlefield, the "fists thrown forward" are the various services and arms of various countries participating in the exercise.
At 11 a.m., the joint training of actual soldiers started with the "prelude" of fighter jets roaring in the air, and then the "prologue" of the intensive firepower of the helicopter group.
Accompanied by the rumble "beat" of the long-range artillery and the "decorative sound" embellished by automatic rifles, the ground assault group played the "main movement" of a three-dimensional attack towards the predetermined target in depth...
On September 15, local time, the "Peace Mission-2021" joint military exercise held the first live ammunition exercise at the "Dongguz" shooting range in Orenburg, Russia.
The picture shows the moment when the participating helicopters fired.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Li Chun
What kind of experience is it to watch a joint military exercise on-site?
The first is shock.
The roar of fighter planes and continuous sky artillery fire continued to knock on the eardrums, and the sound of explosions made the iron railings on the third floor of the viewing platform resonate.
When the land warfare "eagles" and the torrent of iron and steel advance hand in hand, under the momentum of "compression of troops", the same frequency resonates with the unanimous determination of the participating countries to defend regional peace.
The second is busy.
Recording the footage on the training ground was an important task for the reporters that day.
However, the smooth and fast-paced "battlefield symphony" is a bit dizzying. I don't know whether to focus the camera on the hovering helicopter, the armored vehicle through the smoke of gunpowder, or the rocket launchers constantly flying from the foot of the distant mountains.
It's a pity that the avatar lacks skills and missed many wonderful moments.
On September 15, local time, the "Peace Mission-2021" joint military exercise held the first live ammunition exercise at the "Dongguz" shooting range in Orenburg, Russia.
The picture shows a foreign soldier walking towards the exercise area before the joint exercise begins.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Li Chun
At the end of the live ammunition training, he climbed onto the truck he was riding in.
Returning to the Chinese camp was the same route, the same speed, and the same bumps, but my mood was different from when I came, and I began to think about the "doorway" behind this "lively".
I am not seeing this scene for the first time.
During the "Orient-2018" strategic exercise held by the Chinese and Russian armed forces in 2018, I also witnessed the "picture scroll" of the "overwhelming" airpower and ground forces at the Chugor training ground in Russia.
The scale of the actual military exercise is rare, and the sensory shock and soul shock it brought is still unforgettable.
But unlike the Sino-Russian bilateral joint exercise at that time, the SCO joint anti-terrorism military exercise brought together more countries participating in the exercise.
Under the dual background of the accelerated evolution of a century of change and the continued epidemic of the century, many regional countries can achieve joint military training within the framework of the SCO, expressing their determination to combat the "three forces."
Such a consensus on unity and the pursuit of peace are themselves a weapon and a force.
On September 15, local time, the "Peace Mission-2021" joint military exercise held the first live ammunition exercise at the "Dongguz" shooting range in Orenburg, Russia.
The picture shows the Chinese participating equipment.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Li Chun
"No harm is greater than chaos." Let's start from this. The prerequisite for development is peace, and peace is not easy to maintain.
Talking about security but unable to defend, prosperity and stability are naturally impossible to talk about.
Over the past 20 years, the defense departments of various countries have continuously deepened practical cooperation and expanded cooperation space within the framework of the SCO, so as to effectively respond to various threats and challenges and maintain regional peace and stability.
This is not only the priority direction of the SCO cooperation, but also the common expectation of the people of all countries.
This "Peace Mission-2021" joint counter-terrorism exercise is one of the measures to realize the common expectations. Watching the joint exercise on-the-spot training has also become a testimony to the efforts of all parties to defend peace.
On September 15, local time, the "Peace Mission-2021" joint military exercise held the first live ammunition exercise at the "Dongguz" shooting range in Orenburg, Russia.
The picture shows the joint training site.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Li Chun
According to the exercise plan, the amount of ammunition consumed in the final joint counter-terrorism cluster real-arms operation will be twice the amount of ammunition used in the first live-arms exercise.
I can't help but expect that the military exercise field on the day of the actual operation will be even more shocking. At the same time, I am reminding myself that I can't miss the moment when the tank fires when I take pictures.
Reporter: Li Chun