KHANKALA, October 18 (AVN) - Federal aircraft were not used in Chechnya over the past 24 hours due to bad weather conditions, a source in the unified federal headquarters told the Military News Agency.
An AN-30 Clank reconnaissance plane accomplished a number of missions in daytime, an MI-8 Hip helicopter equipped with infra-red imager - in night time.
Army aviation and Interior Ministry choppers flew 18 sorties to escort federal columns and protect forces. They destroyed three guerrilla strong points and inflicted four strikes upon their gatherings. Some 20 guerrillas were killed as a result of the strikes, the source said.
MI-8s and MI-26 Halo choppers accomplished seven missions to airlift cargoes to the hard-to-reach mountainous areas of the republic. An IL-76 Candid transport evacuated some 150 servicemen and three tons of technical loads from the area of operation to Central Russia.