The unplanned exercise involves the Russian Air Force personnel stationed at the Erebuni and Gyumri airbases in Armenia. The aim of the operation is to check the skill level attained by the soldiers, along with their combat readiness. The reaction speed in a situation of unexpected alert is assessed by the superiors of the soldiers, with the use of UAV systems.

According to the press release, the exercise involves solely the soldiers stationed at the aforementioned airbases. Throughout the recent period, this type of exercises, as well as operations of much wider scale, involving tens of thousands of soldiers, have been quite frequent.

This worries the NATO member states, particularly the ones that are sharing their border with Russia. NATO Representatives stated, multiple times, that quantity, frequency and scale of the exercises executed by the Russian Armed Forces is “deeply concerning”, particularly due to the fact that some of the exercises were used to take over the Crimean Peninsula and to concentrate the forces on the Ukrainian border. The exercises also made it possible to support the Separatists operating within the Eastern area of Ukraine.