Tajikistan will host a ten-day military exercise of the Collective Rapid Reaction Force (CRRF) of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO).
The exercise that will involve military subunits from Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan, will be conducted at five training grounds in the Khatlon province from November 10 through November 20, an official source at the Ministry of Defense (MoD) of Tajikistan, told Asia-Plus in an interview.
According to him, the purpose of the exercise is in rehearsing coordination and interaction in combat mission against terrorist groups.
The exercise scenario is reportedly based on a group of terrorists penetrating into Tajik territory from Afghanistan.
The complete exercise is to involve some 5000 military personnel, along with armored vehicles, artillery, air-defense batteries, and ground-support aircraft, and will close on November 20 with a final phase at the Harbmaydon training ground in Khatlon featuring live-fire missions with ground-attack aircraft and combat helicopters.
The presidents of member nations of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) gathered in Moscow on February 4, 2009 to sign an agreement to create a joint rapid-reaction force.
Collective Rapid Reaction Force is a joint combined arms task force comprising independent military units from the Collective Security Treaty Organization member nations.
CRRF currently comprises following units: Russia — 98th Guards Airborne Division (Ivanovo) and 31st Guards Air Assault Brigade (Ulyanovsk); Kazakhstan — 37th Separate Air Assault Brigade (Taldykorgan) and Marine forces battalion; Belarus — Spetsnaz brigade; Armenia — infantry battalion; Kyrgyzstan — infantry battalion; and Tajikistan — infantry battalion. The total strength of CRRF is more than 17,000 servicemen.
The first joint exercises of CRRF were held in October 2009 at Matybulak firing range in Kazakhstan near the border with China.
The Collective Security Treaty Organization groups Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan.
