ROSTOV-ON-DON. Aug 15 (Interfax-AVN) - Nearly 20,000 servicemen with 3,000 pieces of armaments and military hardware are engaged in field practice in the Southern Military District, press secretary of the district commander Col. Igor Gorbul told Interfax-AVN on Monday.
"The servicemen are upgrading their skills in using armaments, military and specialized hardware under conditions close to combat," he said.
Air defense units are practicing shooting at small-sized targets at high and low altitudes at the Kapustin Yar training range in the Astrakhan region and the Yeisk training range in the Krasnodar territory. They are operating Tor and Osa anti-aircraft missile launchers, Tunguska surface-to-air gun and missile systems, Strela-10 anti-aircraft missile systems and Igla portable anti-aircraft missile systems.
The field training of artillery units will end with tactical and shooting exercises. The servicemen will operate Msta-B and D-30 towed howitzers, Msta-S, Akatsia and Gvozdika self-propelled howitzers and Vasilyok and Podnos mortars.
Army tank units will spend practically the whole of August in T-90 shooting practice, the colonel said.
The field training of radiation, chemical and bacteriological protection units will last until September with the use of RKHM-4 radiation and chemical reconnaissance vehicles, AL-4 truck-mounted laboratories, BRDM-2-2RKh combat radiation and chemical reconnaissance vehicles and other special machines.
Meanwhile, reconnaissance units of the Black Sea Fleet are practicing their alpine skills, survival and camouflage under combat conditions at the Daryal training range in North Ossetia.
Reconnaissance, airborne and marine units of the Black Sea Fleet have parachute jumps with full combat outfits under simple and complex weather conditions.