Russia Vostok 2018: Country's biggest military drills since 1981 end
Updated 15:31, 16-Sep-2018
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02:05
China and Russia will further deepen military ties and improve troop combat capabilities. These and other pledges were made as the two neighbors wrapped up "Vostok-2018". A joint military parade followed the large-scale drills. CGTN's Ge Yunfei reports.
The final drill of Vostok 2018 kicks off at the Tsugol Training Range in East Russia. The drill simulates an anti-invasion campaign. In its first stage, Russian armored vehicles and tanks start mechanized defense along with their Chinese counterparts.
GE YUNFEI TSUGOL TRAINING RANGE, RUSSIA "Right behind me is China's engineer combat battalion which is building a floating bridge across this 161-meter wide bridge to allow a company of infantry vehicles and tanks to pass the river within 30 minutes."
As the troops cross the river to pursue and attack, bombshells rain on the makeshift enemy. And fighter-bombers and helicopters also throw bombs and fire shells from the air.
SR. COL. LI XINCHENG HELICOPTER BATTALION, PLA 79TH ARMY CORPS "In previous China-Russia drills, we and Russian air forces carried out separate attack missions. But this time, we operated together in an unified formation."
In the final phase, the two nations' forces attack and push the enemy across the border. After observing the drills by helicopter, Russian President Vladimir Putin watches the joint military parade held by the two armies. Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe also attends.
During the military parade, the Russian army rolled out many of its latest and mightiest battle weaponry, including the T-90 tanks, Su-34 and Su-35 fighter jets.
For China, the PLA displayed some of its latest equipment, like the Type-99 main battle tank, WZ-9 and WZ-19 attack helicopters. Ge Yunfei, CGTN, Tsugol Training Range in East Russia.