ALABINO (Moscow Region), August 4 (RIA Novosti) - The first Tank Biathlon World Championship, which kicked off in Russia on Monday, serves a significant role for all participating countries, foreign teams and military attachés agreed.
"The competition is based on the principles of justice, equality, openness, strengthening friendships and good relations, which have an important practical military significance," said a chief commander from China.
The contest takes place at the Alabino shooting range outside of Moscow until August 16, and involves 12 countries from Europe, Asia, Africa and South America. No Ukrainian or NATO crews are involved, as the organizers said they had been invited but declined, only sending observers to the competition.
"The tank biathlon is of great significance in military service and in improving the interaction between military forces from international teams," said Arun Bold Ravdan, a representative of the Mongolian team, which is taking part in the competition for the first time.
China is the only of the 12 foreign crews to use its own tanks, the Type 96 A. The rest of the teams are using Russian-made T-72 tanks.
The tank biathlon was launched in 2013 with four participants - Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Armenia. The discipline similar to a regular biathlon and consists of three laps run around a twenty-kilometer route. Participants need to negotiate obstacles through a slalom section, river shallows, a steep hill, a pontoon bridge and an escarpment. Tank teams fire at targets imitating tanks and low-flying helicopters at distances of 900-2,200 meters (3,000-7,200 feet).
