South Front
Screengrab. Source: the Russian Ministry of Defense.
The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and several units from the Russian military group in Syria have held a new joint live-fire exercise.
On April 20, the Syrian Ministry of Defense released footage from the exercise, which saw Syrian troops landing from Russian Mi-8AMTSh lightly-armed assault transport helicopters and conducting an offensive maneuver with T-90A main battle tanks and BTR-82A armored personnel carriers.
Syrian Su-24MK2 fighter bombers and Russian Ka-52 attack helicopters provided close air support for the troops during the exercise.
The SAA’s 25th Special Mission Forces Division, mostly known by their former name Tiger Forces, led the live-fire exercise. The elite division, which is trained and equipped by the Russian military, is deployed against Turkish and United States-backed forces on several fronts in northwestern and northeastern Syria
Last year, the SAA and the Russian military held a series of joint drills, which were meant to improve coordination and cooperation.
The SAA ceased all large-scale operations some three years ago. Recent political developments in Syria, including a return to the Arab fold and a normalization process with Turkey, suggest that the army and its allies could resume operations in the near future.
