CAIRO, November 7. /TASS/: Air defense troops from Russia and Egypt live-fired surface-to-to air missile systems during their Arrow of Friendship-2019 joint drills near Cairo, the press office of Russia’s Southern Military District reported on Thursday.
The Russian-Egyptian Arrow of Friendship air defense drills are running on October 26 - November 7. More than 100 personnel of the Southern Military District are representing Russia in the joint maneuvers.
"For the first time in modern history, the joint air defense units of Russia and Egypt held a live-fire exercise, employing various surface-to-air missile systems at the international drills near Cairo," the press office said in a statement.
"The joint battalions of Buk-M2E and Tor-M2E anti-aircraft missile systems intercepted and shot down an enemy’s unmanned aerial vehicle as it was approaching the aerodrome. Also, the joint teams of Igla-S man-portable air defense systems mounted on cross country pickup trucks eliminated an adversary helicopter while the combined units of Shilka-M4 self-propelled anti-aircraft guns destroyed the notional enemy’s light armored vehicles and manpower," the statement says.
The international drills involve only Russian-made armament and military hardware. The maneuvers were observed by Russia’s Air Defense Force Chief Lieutenant-General Alexander Leonov and Commander of Egypt’s Air Defense Troops Lieutenant-General Ali Fahmi.
"The firings were successful. All the targets involved in the drills were struck by one missile," the press office quoted Leonov as saying.
