The Center-2026 strategic military exercises concluded in west-central Russia's Chelyabinsk on Friday, with the participating Chinese troops saying that they honed their combat capabilities in the multinational joint drill.
According to the Russian President's official website, the exercises involved over 47,000 personnel conducting missions across 11 training grounds and the Caspian Sea, and were held in coordination with the Interaction-2026 exercises of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO).
Eight countries, namely Russia, China, Belarus, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia and Tajikistan, sent military contingents to participate in this strategic exercises which started on September 28.
The Chinese team was formed by personnel selected from the Central Theater Command headquarters, the 82nd Group Army of the Central Theater Command land force, and a subordinate synthetic brigade.
During this exercises, the participating forces formed a joint operational group to conduct combined land-air operations within the same exercise scenario.
This fully demonstrated the outstanding military proficiency and tenacious fighting spirit of the participating officers and soldiers, as well as the ability of the multiple participating nations to maintain regional peace and stability.
Over the past few days, the participating forces from the eight countries successively completed adaptive training in long-range force projection, joint operational planning and live-fire drills.
Earlier Friday, the exercise entered its final phase: a full-scale joint live-fire drill involving all elements of land and air forces.
As the drill officially began, air and ground firepower launched long-range strikes against the "enemy" first, while swarms of drones quickly took to the skies to conduct multiple waves of close-range aerial reconnaissance on the "enemy's" forward positions, providing precise target information to ground combat units.
Subsequently, a second round of strikes was launched against the "enemy" by tactical drones, armed helicopters and unmanned ground vehicles, among others.
At the same time, engineer units cleared multiple corridors along the front lines, creating favorable conditions for subsequent offensive echelons.
Under the cover of air and ground fire, rapid maneuver units and armored combat units formed multiple ground offensive echelons, adopting a strategy of small groups advancing on multiple fronts to launch waves of fire assaults against the enemy's defensive positions.
Officers with the participating Chinese troops said the drill helped enhance the troops' combat capacities amid a complex and evolving environment of battlefield.
"The most notable aspect of the entire operation was the extensive use of unmanned systems, which made the battlefield situation more complex, and which obliged us to flexibly apply various new tactics and combat methods. Our troops received substantial and hands-on training through dealing with these challenges," said Zhou Zexin, an officer with the Chinese troops participating in the exercises.
"In terms of force composition, we encompassed a wide range of capabilities, including reconnaissance and intelligence, joint command, firepower strikes, information support and logistical support. Throughout the exercise, we engaged in in-depth exchanges with multiple foreign forces, adhered to combat-oriented training, and tested and enhanced our troops' ability to carry out combat missions based on the most complex environments and most typical scenarios," said Yue Yubao, another officer with the participating Chinese troops.
Center-2026 strategic military exercises ends in Russia's Chelyabinsk
