US MILITARY USES RUSSIAN-STYLED MILITARY EQUIPMENT DURING SOUTHERN STRIKE 19 DRILLS

The US military appears to be practicing air assault on Russian-style air defense systems and military equipment during the Southern Strike 19 war games at Camp Shelby, Mississippi.

“Southern Strike 19 is a total force, multi-service training exercise hosted by the Mississippi National Guard at training sites throughout the state. The exercise allows participant the opportunity to build partnerships and maintain combat readiness for future missions.,” the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service website reads. The website also contains a video of Col Billy Murphy, Southern Strike Executive Director, who discusses the type of training conducted during Southern Strike and what attracts units to the exercise.

The exercise will last from January 15th through January 30th.

The 172d Airlift Wing released a video on January 20th which showed Joint Terminal Attack Controllers (JTAC) from the 148th Air Force Special Operations Command (ASOS) coordinating targets, AH-64 Apache crews firing on targets during the drills.

The video showed footage of presumably Russian-styled military equipment such as 9K33 OSA short-range tactical surface-to-air missile systems, TOR short-range surface-to-air missile systems and BTR-80 amphibious armored personnel carrier.

US Military Uses Russian-Styled Military Equipment During Southern Strike 19 Drills

Click to see the full-size image

During the war games, Apache crews are attempting to regain their air assault skills that were de-emphasised after the threat of a ground war waned with the end of the Cold War.

“The US military uses styled or real combat vehicles and air defense systems to add extra realism to various exercises,” the Defence Blog noted.

The US Department of Defense appears to be preparing for a great-power conflict – especially on the ground in Europe, where a number of countries are concerned due to heightened tensions with Russia.

Comments

Why States Still Use Barrel Bombs

Smoke ascends after a Syrian military helicopter allegedly dropped a barrel bomb over the city of Daraya on Jan. 31.(FADI DIRANI/AFP/Getty Images) Summary Barrel bombs are not especially effective weapons. They are often poorly constructed; they fail to detonate more often than other devices constructed for a similar purpose; and their lack of precision means they can have a disproportionate effect on civilian populations. However, combatants continue to use barrel bombs in conflicts, including in recent and ongoing conflicts in Africa and the Middle East, and they are ideally suited to the requirements of resource-poor states. Analysis Barrel bombs are improvised devices that contain explosive filling and shrapnel packed into a container, often in a cylindrical shape such as a barrel. The devices continue to be dropped on towns all over Syria . Indeed, there have been several documented cases of their use in Iraq over the past months, and residents of the city of Mosul, which was re

Russia Looks East for New Oil Markets

Click to Enlarge In the final years of the Soviet Union, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev began orienting his foreign policy toward Asia in response to a rising Japan. Putin has also piloted a much-touted pivot to Asia, coinciding with renewed U.S. interest in the area. A good expression of intent was Russia's hosting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in 2012 in Vladivostok, near Russia's borders with China and North Korea. Although its efforts in Asia have been limited by more direct interests in Russia's periphery and in Europe, Moscow recently has been able to look more to the east. Part of this renewed interest involves finding new export markets for Russian hydrocarbons. Russia's economy relies on energy exports, particularly crude oil and natural gas exported via pipeline to the West. However, Western Europe is diversifying its energy sources as new supplies come online out of a desire to reduce its dependence on Russian energy supplies . This has

LONDON POLICE INDIRECTLY ENCOURAGE CRIMINALS TO ATTACK RUSSIAN DIPLOMATIC PROPERTY

ILLUSTRATIVE IMAGE A few days ago an unknown perpetrator trespassed on the territory of the Russian Trade Delegation in London, causing damage to the property and the vehicles belonging to the trade delegation , Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said during the September 12 press briefing. The diplomat revealed the response by the London police was discouraging. Police told that the case does not have any prospects and is likely to be closed. This was made despite the fact that the British law enforcement was provided with video surveillance tapes and detailed information shedding light on the incident. By this byehavior, British law inforcements indirectly encourage criminals to continue attacks on Russian diplomatic property in the UK. Zakharova’s statement on “Trespassing on the Russian Trade Mission premises in London” ( source ): During our briefings, we have repeatedly discussed compliance with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, specif

ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

Search This Blog