MOSCOW (TASS) — Tank crews of Russia’s 201^st military base eliminated a notional enemy during drills in the mountains of Tajikistan, the press office of the Central Military District reported on Thursday.

Lyaur mountainous training range

The one-day exercise took place on February 20 and involved about 500 personnel and more than 50 items of military hardware.
(© Nozim Kalandarov / TASS)

The 201^st military base stationed in Tajikistan is Russia’s largest military facility outside its borders. The military base is located in the cities of Dushanbe and Bokhtar. The military base’s armament includes T-72 tanks, BTR-82A armoured personnel carriers, Grad multiple launch rocket systems, Gvozdika and Akatsiya artillery systems.

The one-day exercise took place on February 20 and involved about 500 personnel and more than 50 items of military hardware.

The press office said in a statement:

During the drills, the troops performed a 40-km march from their permanent base to the area of the Lyaur mountainous training range. The crews acted within their units to practice the tasks of positional defence, an offensive from the depth and organizing a tank ambush.

While practicing tactical measures, the troops exercised tank duels when one tank stayed in an ambush while the other acted at a distance of about 2,000 m, stealthily changing its fire positions, the statement says:

In their training duels, the tank crews were honing the skills of firing against immobile and moving targets and determining the most effective fire positions. The tank crews also acted within their units to practice procedures within the required time limits for speedy driving on the mountainous armour-training ground and for accuracy firing from 120-mm 2A46 guns.

Under an agreement signed in October 2012, Russia’s military base in Tajikistan will remain until 2042.