As mentioned before, the Russian Air Force has been showing a significant increase in military training activity, with no signs of letting up this year. Here are three examples of recent and upcoming exercises, as reported by the Russian MoD. Note, all three exercises involved live firing, although according to unofficial sources, the air to air fire was limited to short-range, IR-guided missiles only.
Between March 11 and March 14, four fighter regiments, flying the Su-27, MiG-31 and MiG-29, conducted training at the "Ladoga" firing range. In total, about 100 flights were made, including at night.
On March 26, the "Telemba" firing range hosted a regiment of 20 MiG-31s for daytime and night-time training flights.
Between April 1 and April 10, over 10 aviation regiments of various types, including fighter (MiG-31), frontal (Su-24), army aviation, transport, support, and communication units will participate in a number of activities as part of the Air Combat Conference and training exercises over the "Ahuluk" and "Kapustin Yar" ranges.
3/27/08
A Flying Air Force (Update)
