East 2018

Vostok 2018 maneuvers were preceded by the entire cycle of preparatory measures - sudden inspections and command post exercises. In mid-August, a sudden check of the Northern Fleet was carried out, and at the end of the month, the Central and Eastern military districts. In addition, 16 exercises were conducted on types of comprehensive support, including reconnaissance, electronic warfare, camouflage, moral, psychological, material and technical support, and others. All formations, military units and units involved in the tasks of comprehensively providing troops were involved in special exercises. In preparation for the Vostok-2018 maneuvers, measures were taken with a practical supply of mobilization resources. 21 units were mobilized in 10 constituent entities of the Russian Federation, several thousand citizens were called up from the reserve. In the Southern and Central military districts , units of territorial troops were formed, which were transferred by military transport aircraft to the Eastern Military District to carry out combat training tasks. ^[3]

In order to ensure the actions of troops (forces) as close as possible to combat conditions at the Tsugol training ground in the Trans-Baikal Territory, combat training specialists created an extremely complex target situation. In total, 15 target lines, 8 target areas for aviation and 19 target areas for missile forces and artillery were prepared to display the tactical situation at the training ground. To increase the realism of targets, 212 armored objects were set up, more than 2,800 targets, of which 1,200 heavy ones, which maximally display objects, samples of weapons and military equipment of a conditional enemy. The spatial scope of the created target environment for designating the actions of a conventional enemy (length along the front is up to 8 kilometers and in depth up to 24 kilometers) allows you to work out the actions of troops (forces) during large-scale operations. ^[four]

From September 11 to September 17, 2018, in accordance with the training plan of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation for 2018, under the leadership of the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation , Army General Sergei Shoigu , maneuvers of troops (forces) were carried out in the territory and in the sea areas of the Russian Far East and adjacent Pacific waters “ East 2018 ". ^[one]

In the course of them, questions of the use of interspecific military groups in the interests of ensuring the military security of the Russian Federation were worked out. ^[one]

As part of the Vostok-2018 troops (forces) maneuvers, an experiment was conducted for the first time to test new methods of combat use of the “new type” air assault forces by the Airborne Forces. The practice of conducting so-called airmobile operations as part of an air assault formation with an experimental organizational structure, equipped with integrated automated command and control systems, the latest weapons and special equipment, was worked out during the main stage of the practical operations of the troops at the Tsugol training ground in the Trans-Baikal Territory. ^[5]

91 observers from 57 countries, as well as from the Military Mission of the NATO countries and the Permanent Mission of the European Union to the Russian Federation, came to the exercises ^[6] .

The main goals of the maneuvers were to check the level of preparedness of the military command and control agencies when planning and conducting regroupings of troops (forces) over long distances, to organize interaction between land forces and forces of the Navy, to obtain practical training for commanders, commanders and staffs and improve their skills in command and control ( forces) during the preparation and conduct of hostilities. ^{[1] The} real level of training of associations, which can only be assessed in exercises of an appropriate scale. These maneuvers, conducted on a bilateral basis, have become the highest form of verification of combat skills, field, air and sea training of troops of military districts. ^[3]

The maneuvers took place in two stages, during the first, the deployment of a group of troops (forces) in the Far East, the buildup of groupings of the forces of the Navy in the Northern and Far Eastern maritime zones were completed, issues of organizing interaction and comprehensive support of military operations in the interests of fulfilling the tasks were worked out. At the second stage, commanders and staffs worked out the issues of managing interspecific groupings of troops (forces) with the practical development of defensive and offensive operations. ^[one]

The most dynamic hostilities were played at the Zugol training ground, where three units of the Eastern Military District, together with the units of the People's Liberation Army of China and the Armed Forces of Mongolia, opposed the 2nd and 41st combined arms armies of the Central Military District. Up to 25 thousand Russian troops took part in the joint operations of the troops at the Zugol training ground, more than 7 thousand weapons, military and special equipment, about 250 aircraft and helicopters were involved. During the drawing of tactical episodes, robotics, unmanned aerial vehicles were used, parachute landing was carried out, the actions of the mobile brigade and other tactical techniques were worked out. The troops performed the tasks of maneuvering defense, defeating the enemy with artillery unit fire and army air strikes. The transition to a counterattack has been worked out with the forcing of a water barrier in difficult conditions. Upon completion of practical actions, the leadership of the maneuvers conducted a field review of the troops. ^[3]

September 12th

In the Sea of ​​Okhotsk, a naval strike group of the Pacific Fleet , consisting of the Rapid destroyer and two missile boats, hit Moskit cruise missiles at a surface target. The target vessel was drifting at a distance of more than 100 kilometers from the ships performing the combat exercise. According to objective control, all three cruise missiles hit the target. The security of the firing area was provided by more than 10 ships and vessels of the Pacific Fleet, as well as naval aircraft. ^[7]

During the rally of one of the stages of practical actions at the Tsugol training ground, the crew of the Mi-26 helicopter took part in ensuring the landing of tactical assault forces in the designated area, where Tiger armored vehicles and ATVs were delivered to support paratrooper units. ^[8]

Two strategic missile carriers Tu-95 MC long-range aerospace forces within the framework of the maneuvers of troops (forces) “Vostok-2018” made planned flights over the neutral waters of the Barents, Chukchi , East Siberian seas and the Arctic Ocean. In the course of fulfilling the tasks, the crews of Tu-95MS aircraft successfully completed an associated refueling in the air from the Il-78 air tanker. The missile carrier’s air cover was carried out by Su-35 S VKS multirole fighters. ^[9]

September 13th

On September 13, on 25 Il-76MD aircraft, the airborne assault was delivered to the ejection area, covering a distance of over 1 thousand kilometers. More than 700 personnel and 51 BMD-2 assault vehicles were parachuted at the Tsugol training ground. The landing was carried out on a previously unfamiliar landing site "Bulak" (Trans-Baikal Territory) from a height of 600 meters at a speed of 300 kilometers per hour on the parachute systems D-10 and " Arbalet-2 ". After landing, the paratroopers began to carry out the tasks of capturing a conditional enemy field airfield, blocking important objects, mastering and holding a profitable line with the support of Ka-52 attack helicopters ^[10] , thereby ensuring high rates of advance of the main forces of the coalition group of forces (forces) during practical action of the main stage of maneuvers. ^[11] To ensure the airmobile operations of the landing of the 31st Guards. More than 40 Mi-8AMTSh helicopters , 2 Mi-26 heavy multi-purpose transport helicopters, and more than 10 Mi-24 fire support helicopters were attracted by the Oshdbr . Including the transfer of military reserve units by military transport helicopters, which are equipped with highly maneuverable special vehicles. On the external suspension of Mi-8 helicopters, UAZ-23632 cars were delivered to the specified area, 8 Mi-4 ATVs, 4 Lynx armored vehicles equipped with Kornet bird guns and Kord machine guns were landed by landing Mi-26 helicopters. ^[12]

At the Tsugol training ground, a company of Terminator tank support combat vehicles took part. The Terminators unit operated in the first echelon together with the units of the tank and motorized infantry units of the Eastern Military District, destroying the conditional enemy’s armored targets from the entire range of weapons. In this episode, the motorized infantry brigade of the People's Liberation Army of China and the infantry platoon of the Mongolian Armed Forces assisted the Russian motorized rifle and tank units. ^[13] According to the operation plan, Russian and Chinese artillerymen simultaneously fired using the Uragan multiple launch rocket systems of the artillery units of the Eastern Military District and the PLA type 81 missile infantry brigade. After completing the task of destroying the important targets of a conditional enemy, artillery units carried out an anti-fire maneuver and proceeded to further destroy their strongholds with concentrated fire. ^[14] In the final phase of the fire raid, the fire means of the howitzer artillery divisions Msta-B and Akatsiya of the artillery and motorized rifle brigades of the Eastern Military District, using high-precision Krasnopol ammunition using target designations received from the Granat-4 unmanned aerial vehicle, were used ". ^[fifteen]

As part of the practical actions of the troops at the Zugol training ground, more than forty strike aircraft of bomber, fighter, assault and army aviation were involved to launch a group air strike. The crew of the long-range supersonic missile carriers-bomber Tu-22M 3, multi-functional fighter-bombers Su-34 , tactical front-line bombers Su-24 M, attack aircraft Su-25 SM were involved in the task of delivering airstrike. Aviation bombed firing positions, control posts, defended targets, strong points and reserves of the conditional enemy. The actions of attack aircraft in the air were covered by multifunctional highly maneuverable fighters of the 4 ++ Su-30 SM generation. The conventional enemy’s air defeat was carried out using the reconnaissance-strike complex of reconnaissance, command and communications of the Sagittarius Krus and the Orlan-10 unmanned aerial vehicles. ^[16]

The demolition teams of the engineer-sapper units made passages in the conditional enemy minefields using self-propelled URE-77 "Meteorite" mine-clearing rocket launchers, BMR-3M mine clearance vehicles, as well as Uran-6 mobile robotic systems. In total, ten groups of assault and barrage from a separate motorized rifle and a separate engineer-engineer unit of the Eastern Military District were involved in the task. The actions of motorized riflemen and sappers covered the Uran-9 robotic systems. ^[17]

During the maneuvers of the Vostok-2018 troops (forces), the units of the Russian Chemical Forces Defense Forces destroyed the conditional enemy from the TOS-1A Solntsepyok heavy flamethrower systems and the Bumblebee infantry flamethrowers to support the actions of the tactical assault and barrage groups in preparation for the transition to the joint the offensive of Russian and Chinese units. ^{[18] The} military personnel of the RBF units and formations of the defense of the Eastern Military District and units of central subordination delivered over 60 square kilometers of area curtains. To reduce the visibility of command posts and firing positions with the help of thermo-smoke equipment at nine training grounds of the BBO of the Russian Armed Forces Defense Battalion, smoke screens were installed in the areas of movement of combined arms units, as well as strategically important infrastructure of the ground grouping of troops. The installation of areal aerosol curtains was carried out both in a static position and in motion using smoke machines TDA-3K and sets of radio-electronic means for controlling aerosol fields (lines) RPZ-8x, designed to remotely actuate smoke bombs and other means having an electric start . Such protection was aimed at reducing the effectiveness of ground, air and space reconnaissance of a conditional enemy. ^[19]

On September 13, the Tsugol training ground in the Trans-Baikal Territory was visited by the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of Russia, Vladimir Putin , who from the command post observed the progress of the main stage of the Vostok-2018 maneuvers. Vladimir Putin was present at the field review of the troops, and at the end of the exercises he presented awards to the servicemen of Russia, China and Mongolia, who distinguished themselves during the maneuvers.

A joint military parade of Russian, Mongolian and Chinese troops was held at the training ground. The parade was hosted by the commander of the troops of the Eastern Military District, Colonel General Alexander Zhuravlev , the commander of the Northern Military District of the PLA, Lieutenant General Li Chao Ming, and the commander of the special motorized rifle brigade of Mongolia, Brigadier General Lhatvasuren Ganselan. ^[twenty]

September 14th

As part of one of the episodes of the tactical action of conducting large-scale Vostok-2018 maneuvers in the Khabarovsk Territory at the Bikinsky training ground, the motorized rifle formation of the 5th combined arms army of the Eastern Military District stopped the advance of the conditional enemy during active defensive operations. Military air defense units repelled a conventional enemy air raid, using the calculations of ZSU-23-4 Shilka self-propelled anti-aircraft installations and the Igla portable anti-aircraft missile systems. Artillery units armed with Grad multiple launch rocket systems, having maneuvered, fired at the enemy. Being on the defensive, the military will have completed the task of inflicting maximum losses to the conditional enemy and disrupting his military formation in order to launch a counterattack. More than 200 units of military and special equipment and more than 1,700 military personnel were involved in the practical action draw at the Bikinsky training ground. ^[21]

At one of the training grounds in the Khabarovsk Territory, military engineers built bridges and pontoon crossings, rebuilt damaged roads, equipped crossings in the rubble in one of the conditionally flooded areas, evacuated the “population”, and also cleared the area of ​​objects simulating explosive objects, radioactive and chemical waste. For conditionally “victims”, a well-organized field camp was deployed, water and energy supply was organized. More than 350 military personnel and about 80 units of military and special equipment were involved in practical actions, including a set of pontoon-bridge fleet, IMR-2 engineering demolition vehicles, pit MDK-3 vehicles, PTS floating conveyors, excavators and cranes. Also, the engineering units of the Eastern Military District worked out practical steps to build a 30-meter bridge on the “damaged section” of the road in the Trans-Baikal Region, thereby ensuring unhindered march to the indicated areas of the tank and motorized infantry units. For this purpose, military engineers involved 3 sets of heavy mechanized bridges TMM-3 . ^[22]

During the rally of one of the stages of the practical actions of the RKhB defense troops, the task was to eliminate the consequences of chemical contamination as a result of the spill of several railway tanks with toxic chemicals. The military personnel of the RBF units and formations of the defense of the Eastern Military District and units of central subordination, together with special aviation forces with chemical reconnaissance devices installed on board, identified the borders of infection and designated the dangerous area. Detected sources of infection were seized for analysis. After this, special processing units "neutralized" the area that had been infected. ^[23]

The operational and tactical aviation of the Eastern Military District dealt an air strike on the targets of the conditional enemy at the Mukhor-Konduy training ground near Chita as part of the drawing of the Vostok-2018 episode of maneuvers. During the flight missions, the pilots launched unguided missiles and bombed aerial bombs of various calibers. The crews of Su-30SM , Su-34 , Su-24M, and Su-25 fighter, bomber, and attack aircraft destroyed targets designating a battery of artillery guns, a convoy of tanks, and a conditional enemy motorized infantry company on the march. The flight crew received the coordinates of the targets in the air from the crews of the Su-24MR reconnaissance aircraft. In total, more than 30 operational tactical aircraft of the Eastern Military District were involved in the tasks. ^[24]

Sailors of the Pacific Fleet conducted a naval operation to guide and escort a detachment of ships and vessels in the Sea of ​​Okhotsk . The flagship of the Pacific Fleet of the Order of the Nakhimov Guards missile cruiser Varyag , the destroyer destroyer Fast , large and small anti-submarine ships completed the tasks of escorting a fleet of ships of the fleet consisting of large landing ships, landing boats and the hospital ship Irtysh at the passage by sea. The crews of the security ships worked out combat training to organize all types of detachment defense, conducted joint tactical maneuvers and communications training. In carrying out tasks to cover the detachment of ships from the air, deck-mounted Ka-27 anti-submarine helicopters were involved. In total, more than 15 warships and support vessels of the Pacific Fleet took part in the operation. ^[25]

The units of the Arctic motorized rifle brigade of the Northern Fleet made a march along the territory of the Chukchi Peninsula from the shores of the Arctic Ocean to the Pacific coast using standard equipment designed for operations in the Far North . The march was completed along the route Cape Vankarem - the village of Egvekinot at a distance of more than 270 kilometers on the road on two-link snow and swamp vehicles DT-10P for two days. During the march, the Northern Fleet practitioners practiced tactics of raid actions to search for and destroy reconnaissance and sabotage groups of a conditional enemy. At certain stages of the march, live firing from small arms and heavy machine guns against prepared target positions was carried out. ^[26]

During the stage of practical actions of the troops at the Zugol training ground, an A-50 U long-range detection and control aircraft was used to repulse a conventional enemy’s air raid. The crew and the combat crew of the air complex completed the tasks of air watch, detecting air targets and transmitting their coordinates to fighters MiG-31 , Su-35S, Su-30SM on-duty air defense forces of the Eastern Military District. ^[27]

September 15th

The crews of long-range bombers Tu-22M3 of the Aerospace Forces carried out bombing at an aviation training ground in the Trans-Baikal Territory, destroying the airfield facilities of the conditional enemy. Long-range pilots hit targets marking aircraft parking areas, aircraft on the runway, aircraft shelters, warehouses and a command and control station of the conditional enemy airfield. During the bombing, aircraft bombs weighing up to 500 kilograms were used. In total, more than 10 crews of long-range Tu-22M3 aerospace forces were involved in the flights. ^[28]

A detachment of warships and support vessels of the Northern Fleet conducted an anti-submarine defense exercise in the Sea of ​​Okhotsk. During the training, the crew of the large anti-submarine ship " Vice Admiral Kulakov ", which is part of the detachment, worked out a set of measures to search for submarines using onboard sonar weapons, as well as using the Ka-27PL anti-submarine helicopter. During the flight, the helicopter crew performed search operations using a lowered sonar station . At certain stages of the exercise, combat calculations of the mine- torpedo warhead of the ship were conducted on conditional coercion of the submarine to ascend, as well as on the conditional use of the entire anti-submarine weapon system. Also, the BOD crew also completed training tasks on defending the ship from the attack of a conventional submarine with the implementation of anti-submarine maneuvering elements. ^[29]

During a practical action rally, the Su-30SM aircraft link acting as a conditional enemy approached the area of ​​responsibility of the air defense units of the BBO and did not respond to requests from ground services. On interception of “intruder aircraft”, duty forces were raised as part of the crews of the MiG-31 and Su-35S fighters . Having received the coordinates of the “intruders” in the air, the crews of the on-duty forces completed conditional missile launches, after which they worked out elements of short-range maneuverable air combat with the crews of Su-30SM aircraft. ^[thirty]

September 17th

At the end of the joint maneuvers of Russia and China “Vostok-2018” in Transbaikalia at the Zugol training ground, a large concert was held with the participation of art groups from the Eastern Military District, the Central House of the Russian Army named after M.V. Frunze and artists of the concert team of the Song and Dance Ensemble of the People's Liberation Army of China. The repertoire of the rich program of creative teams of the two countries included musical compositions and theatrical performances of a military-patriotic orientation. Songs in Chinese, performed by the artists of the district song and dance ensemble, deserved special attention of the audience, in turn, one of the singers of the PLA creative team performed the famous Lyube song “ Combat ”. At the end of the concert program, art groups of the two countries performed the song “ Katyusha ” in Russian and Chinese . Then the deputy commander of the troops of the Eastern Military District for work with personnel, Major General Sergey Dolotin, thanked the art groups for the concert and presented souvenirs and flowers to its participants. ^[31]

Upon completion of practical actions, a field review of the troops was carried out. ^[32]

The main actions of the troops (forces) took place at the combined-arms training grounds of the Eastern Military District "Tsugol", "Bamburovo", "Radygino", "Uspenovsky", "Bikinsky", as well as at the air force and air defense ranges "Litovko", "Novoselskoe", "Telemba ”And“ Anna Bay ”, in the waters of the Bering and Okhotsk seas, Avachinsky and Kronotsky bays. ^[one]

The military command and control bodies, troops (forces) of the Eastern and Central military districts , the forces of the Northern Fleet , the formation of the Airborne Forces , long-range and military transport aviation of the Aerospace Forces were involved in the maneuvers. ^[one]

Military formations of the People's Liberation Army of China and the Armed Forces of Mongolia took part in the drawing of joint practical actions at the Zugol training ground. ^[one]

The actions of troops (forces) during the maneuvers were carried out in accordance with the provisions of the Agreement between the Russian Federation, the Republic of Kazakhstan , the Kyrgyz Republic , the Republic of Tajikistan and the People’s Republic of China on confidence-building in the military field in the border area of ​​April 26, 1996. ^[one]

In total, about 300 thousand Russian military personnel, more than 1 thousand aircraft, helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles, up to 36 thousand tanks, armored personnel carriers and other vehicles, up to 80 ships and support ships were involved in maneuvers. ^[1] The main draw, which will be held at the Tsugol training ground of the Eastern Military District, was attended by the military contingent of the People's Liberation Army of China (PLA) of up to 3.5 thousand people. ^[2] In total, about 30 military echelons arrived in the framework of the maneuvers that delivered over 400 units of military and special equipment of the PLA. ^[33] The military contingent of the Mongolian Armed Forces also took part in the exercises ^[3] .

More than 6 thousand military personnel from three formations and two separate military units of the Airborne Forces took part in the Vostok-2018 maneuvers. The airborne troops on the maneuvers of the Vostok-2018 troops (forces) were represented by an operational-tactical group, which included units of three air assault units: the 31st Guards. Odshbr from Ulyanovsk, 11th Guards. Oshbr from Ulan-Ude and the 83rd Guards. Oshbr from Ussuriysk. Also, maneuvers and special equipment of the 38th separate separate guard communications regiment of the Airborne Forces deployed in the Moscow Region took part in the maneuvers ^[5] . In the course of testing the practical actions of the troops, over 900 units of armored and wheeled vehicles of the “Winged Guard” were involved. For the first time in the framework of large-scale maneuvers, the paratroopers used new models of military equipment that had recently entered service with the 31st and 11th separate guard air assault brigades, such as the BMD-4M , BTR-MDM , STS Lynx , pickup Patriot with the Kornet ATGM and the Kord heavy machine gun. In addition, about 10 calculations of UAVs " Eleron-3 " and " Orlan-10 " of the units of unmanned aerial vehicles of the Airborne Forces worked in order to conduct reconnaissance from the air in the areas of practical games. ^[34]

The transfer of a group of Airborne troops involved in the Vostok-2018 maneuvers to the territory of the Trans-Baikal Territory was carried out in a combined way, both by air and by rail . ^[34]

On the part of the MTO, to ensure the maneuvers of the Vostok-2018 troops (forces), more than 80 depots with fuel and ammunition were deployed in eastern Russia, as well as 100 food items. Field depots for storing and issuing missiles and ammunition, repair and maintenance points, as well as over 80 field fueling points were deployed and performed at the training grounds. In the interests of the troops, a mass refueling area was deployed at the Tsugol training ground (Buryatia) using modern refueling and fuel delivery facilities, and more than 100 field food outlets operated for catering. For training purposes, a comprehensive recovery area was deployed at the Zugol training ground, in which more than 2 thousand specialists of repair and restoration bodies, as well as field repair teams from industrial enterprises, were simultaneously involved. ^[35]

The maneuvers were attended by more than 1.5 thousand military personnel and up to 300 units of armament and equipment of the RBF Defense Forces , including mobile laboratories, radiation chemical reconnaissance vehicles RCM-6 , radiation search engines RPM-2 and robotics, as well as mobile diagnostic teams of scientific chemical defense research organizations to eliminate the effects of radioactive and chemical contamination of the area . ^[23]

• «Восток-2018» на сайте Министерства обороны России
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• #МинобороныLive Активная фаза стратегических маневров «Восток-2018» на YouTube

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