Defence Minister: cutting-edge equipment supplied to Belarus’ Air Force and Air Defence Forces

Belarus’ Armed Forces pay special attention to air defence – as stated today by Defence Minister Viktor Khrenin at the Central Air Force and Air Defence Command Post

In particular, he noted that the concentration of NATO troops near our borders remains high, “We note the high level of operational and combat training events. For example, to date, six military drills are taking place on the territory of our neighbouring countries as part of the Defender Europe manoeuvres. A large number of vehicles and personnel move around the territory of European countries, including aviation. Therefore, today the Commander-in-Chief decided to check the air defence forces on duty as part of the ongoing surprise inspection of the Armed Forces.”

According to Mr. Khrenin, it is too early to talk about the results of the inspection.

“We have summed up only the preliminary results. In general, we’ve coped with the task. The detailed results will be announced later. Today, the Commander-in-Chief has tasked us to report the final results of this inspection, after checking live recording data.”

Mr. Khrenin said that the Air Force and Air Defence Forces are currently receiving the most cutting-edge equipment: SU 30-SM aircraft, MI-35M helicopters, S-400 Triumf air defence systems.

“These are the most advanced complexes ensuring the protection of the state border in the airspace,” he underlined.

When asked how unexpected the inspection tasks were for the participants in the process, the Defence Minister replied, “That’s why it’s called a ‘surprise inspection, because all events are held suddenly. A very small circle of people who define the idea knows about them. Those units that were operating today as part of a surprise inspection did not know anything about it at all.”