World news

MLRS Polonez equipped with Belarusian rocket is to be tested in the first half of 2018 according to the official statement by the state secretary of the Security Council Mr. Stanislav Zas reported by BELTA. 

Mr. Stanislav Zas highlighted that Belarus achieved significant progress and now has its own Multiple Launch Rocket System called “Polonez”. “This is a Belarusian system entirely, while the rocket is not ours partially. We now face the task of making it a completely Belarusian-made rocket. We have done a lot in this regard, including our efforts in previous year. The present step is to test the system equipped with Belarusian rocket. I hope that we will carry out the tests in the first half of this year and I hope that it will be a success", said the state secretary of the Security Council.

Mr. Stanislav Zas as well mentioned the upgrade of Buk Air Defence Missile System as one of the priorities. "Modern systems are in demand all over the world, but the missile used in such systems is still the old one, though upgraded and modified. The present task is to create a Belarusian-made missile. Then it will be quite a different system with different performances", he stated.

Today, Mr. Stanislav Zas took part in a panel of the State Military Industrial Committee to discuss the results of 2017 and the plans for 2018. According to the state secretary, the work of the companies and enterprises of the State Military Industrial Committee can be rated as successful for the past year. "Positive economic results, increasing overall production, increasing profit of the companies, increasing export. Besides, the number of countries that are buying our products has increased from 60 to 69 during the previous year. I am very glad to say that less and less countries are operating as agents, as we are trading with the whole world directly. We are heartened with the success in the development of aircraft vehicles. We have done a lot in the field of UAVs and now the top priority for this year is creating combat UAVs. I think that during current year this task will be fully resolved", concluded Mr. Stanislav Zas.

On 18 December 2017, representatives of the Belarusian and UK defence ministries met in London to discuss the development of bilateral military cooperation.

As a result of the talks, the parties signed a Joint Statement on Cooperation between the Belarusian and UK defence ministries and the Military Cooperation Plan between the Belarusian and UK defence ministries for 2018.

The Belarusian military delegation held meetings at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The parties discussed bilateral cooperation in the training of peacekeeping contingents under the aegis of the United Nations.

A meeting of Goscomvoyenprom Collegium will be held in Minsk on 28 December at the Committee’s headquarters under the guidance of Goscomvoyenprom Chairman Oleg Dvigalev.

In accordance with the agenda of the meeting, new edition of Defense Sector and Goscomvoyenprom Development Program Until 2020 will be proposed for approval.

Also, issues of labor safety and reasons for workplace injuries at Goscomvoyenprom enterprises are scheduled to be discussed at the Collegium.

Goscomvoyenprom Deputy Chairmen, heads of central office departments, directors of companies within the Committee’s system, chief engineers and persons in charge of labor safety will take part in the meeting.

Representatives of the Belarusian and Ukrainian armies will discuss bilateral cooperation in the area of arms control.

Representatives of the Belarusian and Ukrainian armies will meet in Kiev on 15-16 November to discuss the fulfillment of the Belarusian-Ukrainian intergovernmental agreement on additional trust and security measures. There are plans to review the fulfillment of the agreement in 2017 and agree on next year's events concerning bilateral cooperation in arms control.

The joint strategic exercise of the Armed Forces of Belarus and Russia Zapad 2017 starts on 14 September.

The exercise will be held on 14-20 September. Belarus will provide the exercise areas near Lepel, Borisov, Losvido, Osipovichi, two exercise areas of the Air Force and Air Defense Command near Ruzhany and Domanovo and two areas in Vitebsk Oblast – Dretun and Glubokoye. Russia will provide the exercise areas Luzhsky, Strugi Krasnyye, and Pravdinsky in Kaliningrad Oblast, Leningrad Oblast, and Pskov Oblast. Modern approaches to using armed forces and the experience of modern armed conflicts were taken into account when the concept of the Belarusian-Russian army exercise Zapad 2017 was put together.

The concept stems from a crisis situation, which gets aggravated due to activities of illegal armed groups, international separatist and terrorist organizations enjoying outside support. For the purposes of the exercise, the warring parties are located within real borders of Belarus: the Northerners, which include the Union State of Belarus and Russia, and the Westerners, which are represented by a coalition of interested countries. All the recent armed conflicts began in line with this scenario.

Some 12,700 military personnel will take part in the exercise. About 10,200 personnel will be deployed in Belarus, with Belarus contributing slightly more than 7,000 people and Russia supplying about 3,000 troops. The Belarusian part of the exercise will also involve 370 armored vehicles, including about 140 combat tanks. Up to 150 artillery units and multiple-launch rocket systems, over 40 aircraft and helicopters will be deployed as well.

The exercise will include two stages. During the first three-day stage there are plans to prepare troops for combat deployment and for isolating the areas where illegal armed groups and the enemy's sabotage and reconnaissance forces operate. Air Force and Air Defense units in charge of protecting important government institutions and military installations will be reinforced. During the second four-day stage of the exercise there are plans to practice managing troops during a combat operation aimed at repulsing aggression against the Union State of Belarus and Russia. Interaction and all kinds of support in a rapidly changing situation will be practiced.

A large number of observers have been invited to attend the Zapad 2017 army exercise. Initiations have been sent to international organizations such as the UN, OSCE, NATO, CIS, CSTO, ICRC and also the military-diplomatic corps accredited in the embassies of foreign states in Belarus - a total of more than 80 people. The Belarusian Defense Ministry also expects military observers from Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Ukraine, Estonia, Sweden and Norway.

Zapad 2017 will be widely covered by the media. Journalists will be provided access to the military ranges Ruzhansky, Osipovichsky and Domanovo during the active phase of the exercise on 17-19 September. Daily briefings for accredited journalists will be held starting from 14 September. About 270 foreign mass media outlets have applied for accreditation. Applications have been received from news agencies, publications and TV channels from all the neighboring countries, and also the UK, Germany, Denmark, Canada, the Netherlands, Norway, the United States, Turkey, Finland, France, and Sweden. The army exercise will also be covered by journalists from Qatar, South Korea and Japan.