Russia Today reports the largest ever joint Chinese Russian exercise is being held 24-29 Sugust in China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region by the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).  The SCO is a Eurasian political, economic and military organization founded in 2001 in Shanghai by the leaders of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.

Peace Mission-2014 consist of about 7,000 troops including a 1000 man Russian contingent from  the 36th Motor Rifle Brigade from the Eastern Military District and an aviation wing of the third Command of Air Force and Air Defense Troops.  The Russian contribution boasts 60 armored vehicles (40 BMP-2 amphibious infantry combat vehicles, 13 T-72 tanks, over 20 artillery and missile systems including self-propelled artillery SAU 2S3M guns, multiple BM-21 rocket launch systems, 8 Mi-8 helicopter gunships, 4 Sukhoi Su-25 assault jets and two Il-76 military transport airplanes).

The scenario, revolves around the international task force eliminating terrorist groups in various situations and environments.  This threat of course requires ground and air forces, special operations, airborne troops as well as electronic countermeasures, reconnaissance, mapping and positioning, drones, early warning aircraft, air-defense missiles, tanks and other armored vehicles.

The exercise has also been an opportunity for China to deploy armed drones that coincidentally look like US Predators and other drones that bear an amazing resemblance to the US Global Hawk.  Russia used the exercise to use the  Krasnopol, a Russian 152/155 mm cannon-launched, fin-stabilized, base bleed-assisted, semi-automatic laser-guided, explosive projectile in an air burst mode.

There has been no confirmation that Russian artillery firing into Ukraine against “terrorists” were using the same munitions.