MOSCOW. April 12 (Interfax) - Military transport aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces have performed unique flights in the mountains in the course of a preparedness check, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement on Sunday.
"The military transport aviation command held an experimental tactical exercise at a military transport aviation base in the Southern Military District in the course of the preparedness check that finalized the winter training season," the statement said.
According to the ministry, the flights were performed at altitudes of 4,000 to 10,000 meters and involved Il-76MD-90A, An-124-100, A-50U, An-12, Il-22, and some other types of aircraft. "The exercise aimed to verify the capacity of the available and new aviation systems for being used in the mountains," it said.
"The crews also practiced deployment to an operative airfield and new, unusual tactics of military transport aircraft performing training combat missions in designated areas. The crews practiced piloting in the mountains, communication and aircraft control, search for drop zones, targeting, (simulated) tactical landing, and search and rescue operations in the mountains," the ministry said.