Vladimir Yelkanov: Intensity of combat training of the 102nd RMB in  Armenia doubled in 2018

ArmInfo. In the Russian military base(RMB)stationed in Armenia, the commander of the formation, Colonel Vladimir Yelkanov, summed up the combat training  of the units of the Gyumri and Yerevan military garrisons for the  2018 year of training.

The press service of the Southern Military District told ArmInfo that  this year about 200 combat squadrons, 60 platoon tactical battles, 30  company tactical exercises, 10 battalion battleships were conducted  in the compound, more than 80 percent of the exercises were  bilateral.

Compared to last year, the intensity of classes on the implementation  of practical shooting and driving combat vehicles, as well as fire  support and fulfillment of training and combat missions on MiG-29  fighters and Mi-8MTSh and Mi-24P helicopters has doubled. About 7  thousand training sessions in firearms from small arms and about 1000  firing from combat vehicles were conducted. In addition, more than 5  thousand practical exercises on driving armored vehicles and motor  vehicles, 2 thousand credit and about 700 control exercises in  difficult climatic conditions of high mountains were conducted. The  flight crew of the Russian Erebuni airbase in Yerevan made more than  1.5 thousand sorties. The total flight time was more than 5 thousand  hours.

The air defense units of the compound carried out combat missions in  the joint air defense system of the CIS countries. On the grounds of  the Krasnodar Territory and the Astrakhan Region, anti-aircraft  gunners carried out test shooting from the ''Buk-M1-2'', ''S-300V'',  ''Strela-10'' and ''Igla'' MANPADS at various types of air targets,  including the group for rating "good ".

In the course of fieldwork and camp gatherings, the officers learned  how to apply coverage, circumvention, infiltration, and hidden access  to the line of transition to attack in practice; "In the 2018th  school year, all the tasks assigned to the Russian connection in  Transcaucasia were completed in full, with a twofold increase  compared with last year and with high quality", Colonel Yelkanov  said.