"Rubezh-2021" joint training with Collective Rapid Deployment Forces  of Central Asian region of collective security began in Kyrgyz  Republic

ArmInfo. On September 7, this year, at the "Edelweiss" training range of the Ministry of Defense of the Kyrgyz Republic, "Rubezh- 2021" joint training with  the Collective Rapid Deployment Forces of the Central Asian region of  collective security of the CSTO (CAR CRDF) was opened.

As the press service of the CSTO reports, the training participants  will work on the preparation and conduct of CAR CRDF combat  operations on destroying illegal armed groups that have invaded the  territory of a CSTO member State.

The training, led by Colonel Artur Temirov, the First Deputy Chief of  the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Kyrgyz Republic,  involves military contingents and task forces from the Republic of  Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Russian Federation, the Republic  of Tajikistan, the CSTO Joint Staff and the CSTO Secretariat, special  assets of internal affairs (police), emergency response agencies, and  the State Committee on National Security. There are more than a  thousand people and 150 pieces of equipment in all. Armoured vehicles  (tanks, armoured personnel carriers, infantry fighting vehicles,  "Tiger" special vehicles), flamethrower units, artillery, including  multiple-launch rocket systems, and aviation - Su-30SM fighters,  Su-25 attack aircraft, and Mi-8 helicopters - are being used.

Colonel General Anatoly Sidorov, Chief of the CSTO Joint Staff, said  at the opening ceremony of the training: "The military and political  situation in the CSTO area of responsibility remains complex. The  most unfavorable situation remains in the Central Asian region, which  is developing against the background of the Taliban seizure of power  in Afghanistan, which borders with the Republic of Tajikistan.  Besides this, there is a high level of activity of international  terrorism and religious extremism in the region." He noted that this  year the CAR CRDF celebrated its 20 anniversary. "All these years  have seen their formation and progressive development. Operational  and combat training activities carried out with the CAR CRDF command  and units are aimed at improving readiness to carry out tasks to  repel external military aggression and conduct joint  counter-terrorism operations. Within 20 years the CSTO member States  of the Central Asian region have conducted 10 joint trainings and 6  operational meetings with the CAR CRDF command. Colonel General  Anatoly Sidorov said: "With all certainty we can say that the CAR  CRDF have moved to a qualitatively new level of training and are  ready to meet modern challenges and threats.

The main objectives of the "Rubezh-2021" training are to improve the  practical skills of the CSTO command officials in the organization of  combat operations and management of subordinate troops (forces), as  well as to improve the coordination of the CAR CRDF units in carrying  out tasks in the course of a joint operation.  

The Collective Rapid Deployment Forces of the Central Asian region of  collective security are designed to carry out tasks to ensure the  military security of the CSTO member States, including participation  in repelling external military aggression and conducting joint  counter-terrorism operations.

Depending on the threat nature, the CAR CRDF grouping may have  different structures, composition and reinforcements, including  aviation.

The total strength of the CAR CRDF is about 5,000 people. The  national formations (contingents) of the Collective Rapid Deployment  Forces of the Central Asian Region of collective security (the  Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Russia, and the Republic  of Tajikistan) include military formations, units and subunits of  permanent readiness of the armed forces and other troops, formations  and bodies in which military service is envisaged, equipped with  highly mobile military equipment, interoperable weapon and  communication systems, and units of combat service, logistic and  technical support.