By Wang Jingyu and Si Lei
ORENBURG, RUSSIA, Sept. 15 -- The "Peace Mission-2021" joint anti-terrorism military exercise of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) kicked off on September 14, local time. The Chinese participating troops and their counterparts jointly implemented the first in-situ joint training on the same day.
Although no live ammunition was used in the in-situ joint training, all parties involved closely coordinated to continuously implement multiple subjects including reconnaissance and guidance, firepower strike, defensive combat, and offensive combat.
During the joint training, the Chinese participating troops entered the operational area of the exercise for the first time, along with their main battle equipment such as infantry fighting vehicles, wheeled assault cannons, and self-propelled howitzers.
After the in-situ joint training, the director of the joint director department of the exercise, also deputy commander of Russia’s Central Military District commented on the training. He said that the first joint training achieved relatively good coordination, and believed that the final exercise would be a complete success with the careful preparation of all parties.
According to the general action plan, next, the participating troops from various countries still need to conduct another three live-fire joint drills before the start of the formal exercise.
Compared with the previous joint military exercises within the framework of the SCO, this time the participating countries jointly set up a joint director and command organization to achieve joint command, which is a brand new highlight of this exercise.