DTN News: Russian, Kazakh Pilots To Hone Live-Firing Skills Prior To CSTO Drills....NSI News Source Info # 1159

DTN News: Russian, Kazakh Pilots To Hone Live-Firing Skills Prior To CSTO Drills....NSI News Source Info # 1159
(NSI News Source Info) MOSCOW, Russia - October 23, 2010: Russian and Kazakh combat pilots will take part on Friday in live-firing exercises in preparation for the upcoming large-scale exercises of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), the Russian Defense Ministry said.
The CSTO Collective Rapid Reaction Force drills will take place on October 25-29 at the Chebarkul training ground in Russia's Urals region of Chelyabinsk.
"On October 22, pilots of the Russian Su-24 and Su-27 aircraft and Mi-24 helicopters together with Kazakh Su-25 pilots will conduct drills with live firing at the Chebarkul training grounds in the Central military district," a spokesman for the ministry said on Thursday.
The upcoming CSTO drills will involve 1,700 servicemen, 250 armored vehicles and over 30 combat aircraft and helicopters.
The CSTO is a security grouping comprising the former Soviet republics of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan.