A comprehensive exercise with the troops of the Western Operational Command is concluding in Belarus today. However, First Deputy Defense Minister — Chief of the General Staff Pavel Muraveika has already summed up the preliminary results.
“Over seven days, formations, military units, and subunits of the Western Command conducted active maneuver operations, employed various artillery and missile systems, carried out live-fire exercises with tanks and infantry fighting vehicles, used air defense missile systems, and actively employed FPV drones and electronic warfare means,” he told the Defense Ministry’s press service.
According to him, the main goal was to test the readiness of the command’s troops, and it can be considered achieved.
“Our task during the exercise was to reduce as much as possible the time required to prepare a defensive operation by the forces of the operational formation. At a minimum, we planned to reduce these timelines by half. I will say right away: unfortunately, we did not manage to achieve this target, but we did achieve a reduction in time parameters by 40–60%, which provides food for thought and indicates the need for further adjustment of algorithms and methods of preparing for combat operations,” Muraveika said.
The Chief of the General Staff noted that a “completely new method of building a command system” was tested. It involved a cluster-based principle for deploying command posts, equipping them with modern information and data protection systems, and using distributed communication system deployment options.
“This algorithm and approach proved effective, and the command system of the formation remained operational even after losing 50% of its elements, ensuring stability and control over the troops of the Western Operational Command. This is also a good result that we plan to incorporate into the further development and construction of our Armed Forces,” he said.
According to him, reservists called up for the exercise “demonstrated high motivation and a high level of training.” They quickly restored their skills and effectively carried out all assigned tasks.
“Essentially, all shots and hits during the practical use of firepower were achieved on the first or second attempt, which deserves high assessment and indicates that the system we created and applied for restoring skills is viable and effective. In addition, I note that new models of weapons and military equipment currently in service with our Armed Forces also demonstrated their effectiveness and, so to speak, operational reliability. We managed to ensure that even people without prior experience with these systems quickly mastered them and actively used them during the exercise. Therefore, these results, innovations, and new approaches achieved during the exercise will be incorporated into further plans for improving troops, formations, and the overall development of the Armed Forces,” Muraveika concluded.
