Belarus to present over 20 weapon systems, military vehicles during Zapad 2017 exercise

During the Belarusian-Russian strategic army exercise Zapad 2017 Belarus will present over 20 kinds of weaponry, military and special vehicles. These matters were discussed during the conference held at premises of the State Military Industrial Committee of Belarus by the Committee's Chairman Oleg Dvigalev. Unmanned aerial vehicle systems of the aircraft and helicopter varieties will be deployed during the Belarusian-Russian strategic army exercise Zapad 2017. Belarus will also present lightly armored vehicles with various types of weapons and modifications, promising mobile communication systems, radio warfare stations, which are designed to combat drones, upgraded armored fighting vehicles, and a modernized artillery fire control system. Modernized and cutting-edge Belarusian defense products will be demonstrated in a number of exercise areas. The State Military Industrial Committee of Belarus believes that participation in the Zapad 2017 exercise will evaluate the capability to support the combat potential of the Belarusian army at a necessary level. It will also determine promising R&D areas and confirm the correctness of decisions the Committee makes. Apart from that, opportunities and ways of joint work of Belarusian and Russian defense contractors will be ascertained with a view to equipping not only the regional military group with modern weapons but also the Belarusian army. After the Zapad 2017 exercise is over, profound analytical work will be done in order to further bolster the national security and the defensive ability of the state. During the conference representatives of the enterprises and organizations run by the State Military Industrial Committee of Belarus presented their reports about the readiness of weapon systems, military and special hardware for the exercise. The timeline for transferring the assets to the regular army was specified.