"CHANGE" - Russian Military to Hold Over 1,000 Drills in June-October.

"CHANGE" - Russian Military to Hold Over 1,000 Drills in June-October.(RN).The Russian Armed Forces will conduct over 1,000 command-and-staff and tactical exercises during the summer training period from June to November this year, the Defense Ministry said.
The summer training will focus on improving interoperability of all branches of the Armed Forces and efficient use of automated battlefield management systems, the ministry said in a statement on Thursday.
The training will be carried out on average 2-3 times a week with the emphasis on weapons proficiency and driving skills.
The training period will culminate with the Kavkaz-2012 large-scale strategic exercises in southern Russia and North Caucasus, which would also involve Abkhaz and South Ossetian military units.
In addition, Russia will hold about 50 joint military exercises with foreign countries, including the Slavic Commonwealth – 2012 with Ukraine and Belarus, the INDRA-2012 with India and the Selenga with Mongolia.
The Russian Navy will traditionally take part in RIMPAC, FRUKUS, Northern Eagle and Blackseafor international naval drills.Hmmmm........Don't tell me this is 'normal procedure'.Read the full story here.

Related ? Russia reopens Arctic airbases.Russia plans to reopen Soviet-era airfields in the Arctic. Air force personnel of the Western Military District will soon start preparations for a return to abandoned airfields.

“We will start reopening airfields on Novaya Zemlya and in Naryan-Mar already this summer”, Commander of the Western military Districs’s aviation Maj. Gen. Igor Makushev said on Wednesday.
Plans for next year include the reopening of a military airfield on Graham Bell Island, which is part of Franz Josef Land.
Military airfields in the Arctic were used extensively in the Soviet era, but after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 they have been generally mothballed.
According to Russian experts the reopening of the old airbases do not necessary mean that Russian is scaling up its military presence in the Arctic. “I don’t think these will be fully operational military bases with airplanes stationed there at all times”, says Redactor of the magazine Independent Military View Viktor Litovkin. Litovkin believes that the airports will be used during exercises, for control flights and other tasks, Kommersant writes.Read the full story here.