MOSCOW. July 31 (Interfax-AVN) - Russia's military transport aviation will not hold flight tactical exercises in the current summer training period, replacing them with command post exercises, because planes do not have enough fuel.
"Not a single liter of petrol was provided for combat training of military transport aviation crews in July. As a result, all flight tactical exercises that the 61st air force army (military transport aviation) has scheduled for August will be replaced with command post exercises. The pilots will accomplish flight missions using simulators and training classes," a competent source in the Defense Ministry told Interfax-Military News Agency on Thursday.
Most of the airfields assigned to the military transport aviation do not have fuel reserves, the source said. They only have emergency stores, he stressed. "The Air Force command provides fuel for military transport aviation planes only when they have to transport cargo in the Russian Defense Ministry's interests," he noted.