Russian win sprint contest in tank biathlon
MOSCOW. Aug 11 (Interfax-AVN) - A sprint competition that was part of a current international tank biathlon near Moscow has resulted in all three Russian teams finishing in the top 10 of the 36 participating crews, the chief judge said.
The Russians won first, third and sixth place in the contest, Lt. Gen. Yury Petrov told reporters.
In first-place was the tank commanded by Jr. Sgt. Bulat Tsyrenov, which covered the distance in 16 minutes 13 seconds. The crew led by Jr. Sgt. Marat Khalikov was second and the team headed by Lt. Rinat Khaliyev sixth, Petrov said.
The second best result, 16 minutes 34 seconds, was achieved by a crew from Kazakhstan commanded by Sr. Lt. Sagi Batyrkhanov.
On Monday, the biathlon, which is taking place at the Alabino military training and testing site, resumed with a "pursuit race" contest, in which the tanks are to do three circles with a total length of 4 kilometers.
During the first and second circles, a tank must hit a simulation of an enemy tank with a cannon shot. During the third circle, it has to neutralize an imitation enemy anti-tank crew with fire from a coaxial machinegun.
According to the judging panel, as the finals approach, judges are setting higher standards for crews from their own countries, and so quite often have to use video recordings.
Judges have praised the skills of tank gunners - 75% of targets during the spring contest were hit.