Russia-Belarus Military Cooperation

MOSCOW, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- Russia and Belarus on Tuesday started a joint strategic military exercise in Belarus, the RIA Novosti news agency reported.

   The two-stage drills, dubbed "Zapad 2009 (West 2009)," are expected to run until Sept. 29 and involve about 12,500 service personnel, including 5,000-6,000 troops from Russia and 7,000-8,000 from Belarus.

   Up to 200 items of military equipment and hardware, including 40 aircraft, will appear in the exercise, said the report.

   "The exercise plan was developed jointly by the Russian and Belarusian Armed Forces General Staffs and is purely defensive," the report cited Russian defense ministry as saying.

   The maneuvers will feature combined arms teams, key air force components and ships from the Black Sea Fleet, the Northern Fleet and the Baltic Sea Fleet.

   "These will be very important exercises. We haven't conducted anything like that in terms of composition and scale for a long time," Nikolai Makarov, chief of Russia's General Staff, told the Itar-Tass news agency on Monday.

   Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko are scheduled to attend the exercise on Sept. 29.

   Moscow and Minsk have been working on creating a Union State since 1997, envisioning a common economic, customs, and political space.

   Meanwhile, Russia's Strategic Missile Forces (SMF) are also set to begin a large-scale war game involving over 2,000 personnel on Tuesday.

   During the Sept. 8-11 command-and-staff exercises, "the SMF will practice operations control in scenarios involving conventional and nuclear warfare," with the participation of "150 theater- and tactical-level command-and-control centers," said a SMF spokesman.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-09/08/content_12015922.htm

Russia-Belarus military drills 'defensive' - Medvedev

KALININGRAD, September 28 (RIA Novosti) - Large-scale joint military exercises being held by Russian and Belarus are not aimed at anyone and are purely of a defense nature, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Monday.

Zapad (West) 2009 started on September 18 and ends on Tuesday, with about 12,500 service personnel and up to 200 items of military equipment and hardware having taken part.

"I would like to point out that the aim of our exercise is of a defensive nature. We are not threatening anyone," Medvedev said on Monday while attending the exercise in Russia's Kaliningrad Region.

The president also said that the development of the Armed Forces is impossible without such drills and therefore all scheduled exercises in Russia would be conducted according to plan regardless of the ongoing global financial crisis.

"Despite problems of economic nature that emerged within the last year we are going to implement the whole scheduled program of military drills," Medvedev said.

The ex-Soviet neighbors announced plans in the late 1990s to form a union state in a bid to achieve greater political, economic and military integration, but the project has largely existed on paper.

The exercise among other things rehearses interoperability within the framework of the Belarusian-Russian integrated air defense system, which the two countries agreed to establish recently.

Russia is represented by the Moscow Military District units, Ground Forces, Air Force, Air Defense Forces, Airborne Troops and Baltic Fleet naval task forces, and Belarus by operational command units, Interior Ministry, Emergencies Ministry and State Security Committee troops.

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20090928/156278050.html

Russia-Belarus military drills 'defensive' - Medvedev

RIA Novosti

17:54 28/09/2009 KALININGRAD, September 28 (RIA Novosti) - Large-scale joint military exercises being held by Russian and Belarus are not aimed at anyone and are purely of a defense nature, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Monday.

Zapad (West) 2009 started on September 18 and ends on Tuesday, with about 12,500 service personnel and up to 200 items of military equipment and hardware having taken part.

"I would like to point out that the aim of our exercise is of a defensive nature. We are not threatening anyone," Medvedev said on Monday while attending the exercise in Russia's Kaliningrad Region.

The president also said that the development of the Armed Forces is impossible without such drills and therefore all scheduled exercises in Russia would be conducted according to plan regardless of the ongoing global financial crisis.

"Despite problems of economic nature that emerged within the last year we are going to implement the whole scheduled program of military drills," Medvedev said.

The ex-Soviet neighbors announced plans in the late 1990s to form a union state in a bid to achieve greater political, economic and military integration, but the project has largely existed on paper.

The exercise among other things rehearses interoperability within the framework of the Belarusian-Russian integrated air defense system, which the two countries agreed to establish recently.

Russia is represented by the Moscow Military District units, Ground Forces, Air Force, Air Defense Forces, Airborne Troops and Baltic Fleet naval task forces, and Belarus by operational command units, Interior Ministry, Emergencies Ministry and State Security Committee troops.



http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/news/2009/09/mil-090928-rianovosti06.htm

Belarusian servicemen to arrive in Russia for joint military drills

RIA Novosti

07:07 06/09/2011

NIZHNY NOVGOROD, September 6 (RIA Novosti)

The first train carrying Belarusian servicemen will on Tuesday arrive in Russia's Nizhny Novgorod Region on the Volga for joint military drills, the Russian Western Military District's press service reported.

The train will deliver over 200 Belarusian servicemen and 50 items of hardware to the Gorokhovetsky testing ground.

"Overall, some 30 trains are expected to deliver troops and vehicles to testing grounds in the Nizhny Novgorod and Astrakhan regions as part of troop redeployment for the Union Shield 2011 joint exercises," the press service said in a statement.

The drills will be held on September 16-22 and will involve some 7,000 servicemen from Russia and about 5,000 from Belarus. Joint defense tasks will be practiced at the Gorokhovetsky ground, and air defense tasks will be practiced at the Ashuluk proving ground in the Astrakhan Region in south Russia.

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/news/2011/09/mil-110906-rianovosti02.htm

Russia to deploy S-400 air defense systems in joint drills with Belarus

RIA Novosti

03:52 16/09/2011

MOSCOW, September 16 (RIA Novosti) - Russia will deploy advanced S-400 air defense systems during joint military exercises with Belarus in September, a spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry said.

The Union Shield 2011 drills will be held in central and southern Russia on September 16-22. The exercises are aimed at improving combat readiness of the Belarus-Russian regional joint force, as well as raising interoperability between the units of the two countries.

Col. Vladimir Drik said on Thursday that S-400 and Pantsir-S air defense systems will be deployed during the operational phase of the exercises at the Ashuluk firing range in the Astrakhan Region.

The Union Shield 2011 drills will involve a total of 12,000 troops, as well as up to 50 aircraft and 200 combat vehicles, including 100 tanks.

Defense and security cooperation is an important part of the Russian-Belarusian Union State's activities. The joint Russian-Belarusian regional military force was formed 10 years ago. Its main objective is to defend the Union State's western border and the member states of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO).

Moscow and Minsk also signed an agreement in February 2009 on the joint protection of the Russia-Belarus Union State's airspace and the creation of an integrated regional air defense network.

http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/library/news/russia/2011/russia-110916-rianovosti02.htm

MOSCOW, May 10 (RIA Novosti) – Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday the possible establishment of a Russian airbase in Belarus should not be seen as a response to US missile defense plans in Europe.

“I see no reasons to worry about this issue,” Lavrov said at a press conference with German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle and his Polish counterpart Radoslaw Sikorski in Warsaw.

The foreign minister said Russia and Belarus are a “unified military space,” adding: “No matter if there are Belarusian or Russian planes there, nothing will change… We are protecting our border [the border of the Union State of Russia and Belarus].”

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said last month Russia plans to base fighter jets at a military airbase in Belarus, with a first wing due to arrive there later this year. “We hope that an Air Force regiment will be here by 2015 to protect our borders,” he said.

Belarus borders NATO nations Poland, Latvia and Lithuania. NATO nations now fly combat air patrols from the Baltic states close to Russian airspace, an issue that has previously been viewed with concern in Moscow.

http://www.en.rian.ru/russia/20130510/181076390/Russian-Airbase-in-Belarus-No-Threat-to-Europe---Lavrov.html

Russian Fighter Jets to Deploy to Belarus by Year End - Minister

First four VVS Su-27 will be transferred to Belarus (Baranovichi airbase) for air policing duties

http://ria.ru/defense_safety/20131206/982446956.html

4 Su-27 arrived in Belarus (Baranovichi Brest airfield) - more to come

Standby link Russian Su-27 fighters arrived in Belarus

Any information whether they are either Su-27S, SM or perhaps SM3s from Krymsk? No images or TV reports yet from belarussian media? Thank you.

Hmm, they are regular Su-27P it seems. I see borts 36, 37 and 19. Any idea which VVS unit?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HNcbIncOvo

Nice   

24 Russian Su-27SM3 to be deployed in Belarus by end of 2014

Russian air base in Belarus will be located in Baranovichi

Belarus to receive four S-300 surface-to-air missile systems from Russia in 2015

Russia plans more aircraft, helicopters at airbase in Belarus — defense minister

MOSCOW, December 23. /TASS/. Russia plans to increase the number of aircraft and helicopters at the airbase in Belarus in an effort to strengthen joint air space, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said on Tuesday.

Shoigu held talks with his Belarusian counterpart, Major General Andrey Ravkov as part of meetings of statutory bodies of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), a Russia-led military alliance of former Soviet states.

“I am ready to discuss today plans to continue our practical cooperation,” Shoigu said. “This concerns S-300 systems, the establishment and deployment of the airbase in Belarus with the increase in the number of aircraft and helicopters,” he said.

Speaking on the level of military cooperation between Russia and Belarus in the air defense sphere, Shoigu said “today we are ahead of everyone else on the post-Soviet space.”

Joint military drills are another important area of bilateral cooperation, Shoigu said. “They have become regular and full-scale,” he said, adding that next year more exercises are planned.

The drills codenamed Union Shield-2015, due to be conducted on the Russian territory, are expected to become a major event of joint training of the Armed Forces of Russia and Belarus next year.

The Belarusian defense minister thanked Shoigu for the aid provided by Russia. Belarus will have all four S-300 air defense systems supplied by Russia on combat duty by October 2015.

Ravkov congratulated Russia on the first launch of a heavy-class rocket Angara-A5 on Tuesday, saying this is a “serious step towards the space exploration” and Russia's might in the space sphere is unquestionable.

Belarus Sends Servicemen to Russia for Strategic Command Exercise

Belarusian servicemen will participate in a joint strategic command and staff exercise with the center command office of the Russian Armed Forces.

Belarusian servicemen will participate in a joint strategic command and staff exercise with the center command office of the Russian Armed Forces, the country’s defense ministry reported.

“The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation will start strategic command-staff exercise with the central bodies of military control on March 17. In order to participate in this event the operational team of officers of the General Staff of the Belarusian Armed Forces arrived,” the ministry statement read.

The strategic training will be held amid a snap combat readiness exercise of the Russian Armed Forces in the Arctic region which began on March 16. It includes 38,000 military personnel, 3,360 units of military equipment, 41 warships, 15 submarines, 110 aircraft and helicopters.

Read more: http://sputniknews.com/military/20150317/1019611038.html#ixzz3UgBe3ZSd

The number of Russian fighters deployed in Belarus is being discussed
Russian Aviaton » Tuesday April 7, 2015 16:11 MSK

Russia and Belarus are negotiating the number of Russian fighters to be deployed in Belarus, Voenno-promishlenniy Courier reports with reference to the ambassador of Belarus to Russia, Igor Petrishenko.

«At present four fighters of the Russian air forces are deployed in Baranovichi (Belarus) in order to protect the airspace of Russia and Belarus. The final number of fighters to be deployed in Belarus is being discussed,» he said.

In addition, I.Petrishenko said that this year Belarusian air forces and air defense forces would use Russian Ashuluk and Telemba firing ranges for practicing.

”Boevoye Sodruzhestvo – 2015” (stands for military comradeship) maneuvers, will include firing air defense systems, which are parts of CIS Air Defense System,» the official explained.

He reminded that this year Belarus would take delivery of four Yak-130 operational trainers and four divisions of S-300 air defense systems.

«The defense enterprises of the two countries are in close cooperation. For example, Minsk Wheel Tractor Plant secured orders from Russia representing the plant’s production until 2018,» the ambassador noted.

«In addition to the existing military-technical cooperation, Belarusian suppliers may be involved in Russia’s state procurement in future. Thus military cooperation with Russia is being carried out in the network of the Union State of Russia and Belarus and it is essential in terms of assuring the national security,» I.Petrishenko noted.

Russian, Belarusian Troops Take Part in Joint Military Exercises

The troops from Belarus and Russia are mastering their skills in military defense of the Union State.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The Belarusian military is holding joint exercises in operational and strategic command with the Russian Western Military District, the Belarusian Defense Ministry announced Wednesday.

"During the course of the training, the participants of the Russian and Belarusian military will continue working on joint planning of using the regional group of troops from the Belarusian Republic and the Russian Federation in order to ensure the military security of the Union State," the ministry's statement said.

The drills will continue into Friday.

More joint drills are to come next week, the Belarusian Defense Ministry added. On April 14-16, Russian paratroopers will take part in military exercises in the Belarusian Brestsky Range.

"Military training events with the participation of the special Armed Forces of Belarus and the Airborne Forces of Russia have already become a tradition," the ministry said in a statement.

The two neighbor countries enjoy one of the strongest ties in the post-Soviet space. In 2000, they established a supranational entity called the Union State.

According to the Russian defense chief, the Russian and Belarusian military will reinforce defenses on the Union State's common border with a series of "practical actions and events." One of such events is an upcoming joint exercise code-named Shield of the Union, scheduled for September 2015.

Russia and Belarus are set to hold several joint exercises in 2015 as part of an extended military program announced October 2014 by Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu over emerging security threats.

The Ukraine crisis badly strained Russia's relations with Western and Eastern Europe. The US-led NATO military bloc has subsequently stepped up its presence on the Russian border, specifically in Poland and the former Soviet Baltic states of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia.

Read more: http://sputniknews.com/military/20150408/1020606503.html#ixzz3Wks8i4bE

Russian, Belarusian Paratroopers Begin Drills in Belarus

According to Belarusian Defense Ministry, Russian and Belarusian paratroopers start Monday drills in Belarus aimed at practicing interoperability in joint tactical operations.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Belarusian and Russian paratroopers start Monday drills in Belarus aimed at practicing interoperability in joint tactical operations, the Belarusian Defense Ministry said.

"The exercises will be held with support of combat aviation, and involve paradrops and landings from Mi-8 transport helicopters," the ministry said in a statement.

The drills will continue until April 16, according to the document.

On April 8, the ministry said the Belarusian military was holding joint exercises in operational and strategic command with Russian troops from the Western Military District.

According to October 2014 announcement by Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, Russia and Belarus are expected to hold several joint exercises in 2015 in case new threats against the two countries emerge.

According to Shoigu, the Russian and Belarusian military will reinforce defenses on their borders with a series of "practical actions and events."

Joint military exercise called Shield of the Union is scheduled to be held in September 2015.

Read more: http://sputniknews.com/military/20150413/1020827206.html#ixzz3XHilQJF1

Joint airborne exercise near Brest , 38th aeromobile from Belarus and 76th Pskov VDV

Airborne Troops of Russia and Belarus will conduct this year's exercises "Union Shield-2015"

The Belarusian-Russian tactical army exercises Union Shield 2015 will be held in Russia on September 10-16.

The drills are aimed at improving the operational compatibility of the staffs at different levels; developing cohesion between the systems of managing troops and weapons; developing skills of commanders and staffs in controlling troops (forces) during high-maneuver military actions across a broad front.

The concept of the exercises was developed by general staffs of the armed forces of the two countries with the assistance of the staff of the Western Military District of Russia. The drills are purely defensive, the Russian Ministry of Defence notes. Modern approaches to the use of troops (forces) during high-maneuver military actions across a broad front, results of joint operational training efforts and the need to constantly improve the systems of managing troops and weapons at different levels are named as priorities of the exercises.

The exercises will have two stages. Military administration bodies and the troops will have practice at training ranges in Russia. Tactical episodes will be based on variants of joint actions of Belarusian and Russian army units of the regional group of troops.

A number of joint operational events have been carried out to prepare military administration bodies for the exercises. Special attention was drawn to polishing the operational compatibility of the staffs, evaluating the quality of cohesion between the systems of managing troops and weapons, as well as developing the guidelines for employing the forces.

Issue of Russian air base in Belarus considered in political dimension — defense minister

Belarus airborne troops arrive to Pskov for joint exercise with Russian VDV