The Chinese PLA Army held a welcoming ceremony for foreign military teams participating in the International Army Games (IAG) 2021 in Korla, northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on August 15, 2021, and all foreign teams from 6 countries have arrived in Korla on that day. (Photo by Tian Zhenbang)
URUMQI, Aug. 16 -- Approved by China's Central Military Commission (CMC), the PLA Army will host three contests as part of the International Army Games 2021 in Korla, Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region from August 22 to September 4, and apart from the Chinese PLA, militaries of six foreign countries including Russia, Belarus and Egypt will send teams to China to participate in the three contests.
The three contests to be held in China respectively are the “Suvorov onslaught” infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) crew competition, “Clear Sky” man-portable air defense systems (MANPADS) crew competition, and “Safe Environment” nuclear, biological and chemical (NBC) reconnaissance team competition.
In the “Suvorov onslaught”, every team is allowed to dispatch 3 crews with 3 persons in each to participate in the competition, and two stages of indivicual race and relay race are set in this contest.This year, participants from China, Russia, Belarus and Venezuela will compete with each other in this event.
According to Lieutenant Colonel Cui Huigang, a referee of the “Suvorov onslaught”, the competition, named after the Russian strategist Alexander Suvorov, is to be held on a closed track of 4.3 kilometers in total with twelve obstacles and two firing locations. The participating crews must conduct keen observation, high-speed maneuvering and rapid firing on the simulated complex battlefield, which will be of great challenge to the crew in terms of driving skills and operational tactics.
In the contest of “Clear Sky”, MANPADS crew will compete in three stages, incluing the mastery stage, cooperation stage and combined stage, and every team consists 18 persons. This year, six teams from China, Russia, Belarus, Egypt, Uzbekistan and Venezuela will compete in this event. Except for the Russia team, which has brought their own hardware to China, teams from the other four foreign countries will use the equipment provided by the Chinese side.
According to Major Zhang Cunzhou, an instructor to the “Clear Sky” competition, the competition this year will be more difficult than before because of the addition of firing locations in the mastery stage and cooperation stage. In this case, it requires further improvements in the operation skills of the team members, such as the missile canister holding gesture for missile launch preparation and the timing of interception, which is also a big challenge for the instructors.
In the contest of “Safe Environment”, NBC reconnaissance teams will compete in three stages of individual race, firing match and relay race along two closed tracks with a length of 3.75 kilometers. Each participating crew consists of 3 persons well equipped with gas-tight masks and suits all through in the vehicle. This will be a great challenge to the contestants in terms of both physiology and mentality.
According to Lieutenant Huang Shunxiang, a Chinese participant in the “Safe Environment” event, when wearing a gas-tight mask, the participants have to stand limited vision and obstructed breathing, it will be a great test for their driving and anti-chemical skill and physical fitness to get through 12 vehicle obstacles and 12 personnel obstacles with a high speed. This is especially true when it comes to sprinting a 550-meter section with obstacles in a high-temperature environment, you will feel extremely hypoxic, and the tenacious will is a must to hold on to the end.