In 2021, long-range aviation crews took part in the joint strategic exercise "West-2021" and Russian-Uzbek maneuvers
MOSCOW, December 23. /tass/. The combat training plan for 2021 has been fully implemented by representatives of long-range aviation. This was reported to journalists by the Russian Defense Ministry on Thursday.
"In 2021, the long-range aviation combat training plan is 100% completed, including work on training crews for combat use and training flight personnel for qualification grades," the military department noted on the occasion of the 107th anniversary of long-range aviation.
According to the Ministry of Defense, this year long-range aviation crews took part in the joint strategic exercise "West-2021", Russian-Uzbek exercises, exercises with the Northern and Pacific fleets, as well as other combat training events.
With the participation of Russian long-range aviation, the third joint air patrol was conducted in the Asia-Pacific region with the crews of the Air Forces of the People's Liberation Army of China. "The peculiarity of the task was the long duration of the flight over the water surface, crossing the state border and flying over the territory of China," the ministry said. Also, the crews repeatedly patrolled the airspace of Belarus.
The military department recalled that long-range aviation is an integral part of the Aerospace Forces and a component of the strategic nuclear forces. "Long-range aviation is armed with Tu-160 and Tu-95MS strategic missile carriers, Tu-22M3 long-range bombers, Il-78 tanker aircraft, training and transport aircraft of various modifications," the ministry added.
On December 23, 1914, the decision of the Military Council of the Russian Army on the creation of the Ilya Muromets airship squadron was approved, which became the world's first compound of heavy bombers. During the First World War, the crews of the squadron carried out about 400 sorties for reconnaissance and bombing of enemy targets, during the years of the Great Patriotic War, the crews of long-range bombers made about 220 thousand sorties.
