Russia is sending Su-35 fighters to Belarus for military drills. During flight tasks, the crews of the Russian Air Forces will practice flights to the maximum range, landing at Belarusian airfields, as well as joint preparation for re-flights with Belarusian specialists. The check of the reaction forces of the Union State will take place in two stages. Previous reports state that 12 aircraft are being dispatched. At the first stage, there will be the transfer and creation of groupings of troops (forces) on the territory of the Republic of Belarus as soon as possible, the organization of protection and defence of important state and military facilities.
At the second stage of the check, from February 10 to February 20, Union Courage 2022 joint exercise will be held, the purpose of which will be to practice tasks of suppressing and repelling external aggression during a defensive operation, as well as countering terrorism and protecting the interests of the Union State. During the exercise, measures will be taken to strengthen the protection of the State Border to prevent the penetration of armed groups of militants, to block the channels for the delivery of weapons and ammunition, as well as to search for, block, and destroy illegal armed formations and sabotage and reconnaissance groups of the enemy.
Practical actions of troops (forces) will take place at the Domanovsky, Gozhsky, Obuz-Lesnovsky, Brestsky and Osipovichsky training grounds, as well as certain areas located on the territory of the Republic of Belarus. It is planned to involve Baranovichi, Luninets, Lida and Machulishchi airfields. The number of participants in the exercise, as well as the number of major weapons systems that fall under the scope of the Vienna Document 2011, do not exceed the parameters determined by it, which are subject to notification.
The Sukhoi Su-35 (Russian: ????? ??-35; NATO reporting name: Flanker-E) is the designation for two improved derivatives of the Su-27 air-defence fighter. They are single-seat, twin-engine, supermaneuverable aircraft, designed by the Sukhoi Design Bureau and built by the Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aircraft Plant. The multi-role Su-35 can deploy air-to-air missiles of up to 300-kilometre (190 mi) range, and can carry the heavy Oniks anti-ship cruise missile, as well as the multitude of air-to-ground weaponry. The Su-35 employs the powerful N035 Irbis-E (“Snow Leopard”) passive electronically scanned array (PESA) radar. It is capable of detecting an aerial target up to 400 km (250 mi; 220 nmi) away, and can track thirty airborne targets and engage eight of them simultaneously; in addition, the multi-function radar is capable of providing high-resolution images of the ground using synthetic aperture mode
