UPDF tops Africa in tank biathlon war games

The Uganda People's Defense Forces (UPDF) tank crew merged the best African team in the global tank Biathlon games.

The event which took place in Russia last month attracted over 5,000 servicemen and 200 team crews from 25 countries; showing off their outstanding skills in tank crew race and combat in different situations.

The countries which participated include; Azerbaijan, Angola, Armenia, Belarus, Venezuela, Vietnam, Zimbabwe, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Cuba, Kuwait, Laos, Mongolia, Myanmar, Russia, Serbia, Syria, Sudan, Tajikistan, Uganda, Uzbekistan, Sri Lanka and South Africa.

The Chief of the General Staff of the Ministry of Defense of Russian Federation, Valery Gerasimov said the UPDF was represented by a contingent of 14 officers and men with three tank crews from the Armoured Brigade under the command of Col. Jackson Pande Kajjuba.

The team competed in the most picturesque and amazing cluster in tank biathlon competition, which took place in the Congress Exhibition Center Park "Patriot" where it merged the fourth out of 11 countries in division two.

Other countries in the group included; Laos, Myanmar, Tajikistan, Angola, Cuba, Kuwait, Uzbekistan, Zimbabwe, Sudan and Vietnam.

Gerasimov said Uganda showed off outstanding skills in individual and in the relay race, driving the tanks at maximum possible speed on a terrain full of special obstacles and shooting on targets using standard tank ammunition (including cannon and machines guns).

The UPDF soldiers in action during the biathlon games in Russia which drew over 5000 servicemen. Courtesy Photo

Some of the tasks included combat employment of the tank standard issued weapons (such as shooting by tank machine gun and shooting with the gun); negotiating of different battlefield obstacles, such as trenches, water obstacles and all other sorts of anti-tank man manned obstacles at maximum speed.

"The team made an outstanding job to reach the finals. This shows that old lessons were relearnt and adaptations. All these factors helped Uganda to reach the finals," Gerasimov noted.

He said the countries which Uganda competed are some of the strongest tank teams in the world.

He also commended Uganda for performing extremely better compared to last year's games where it merged third out of four countries.

Gerasimov said the UPDF tank crew also took the first place among the African countries because of the outstanding and performance and skills.

He stressed that this was the first time the UPDF crew has reached finals in the biathlon games since it started taking part in 2017.

This is the fifth year biathlon games are being conducted since they were established in 2015.

Gerasimov said the two-week event is not just a military parade show; but a demonstration of the ability to solve the combat mission in conditions close to reality.

 "The games do not only promote weapons, but also give a feeling of comradeship with the military of those countries which may have been allay, defending their independence," he noted.

He praised the leadership character of the Uganda head of delegation Col. Kajjuba, who he said put up his personal dedication and made right decisions, thus leading the team to an exceptional performance.

Russian specialists praised

The head of Ugandan tank crew Col. Kajjuba thanked the Russian specialists for the continued support through various training.

"Russian partners always help us in training and have been doing it with great pleasure, and on the highest professional level within the bilateral interstate agreements which they implement in an honest manner," he noted.

He noted that Russia provided the UPDF armoured training school in Karama with Russian instructors, who shared all their knowledge and experience while conducting a training course with our specialists on top of training "our tank biathlon team as well".

Kajjuba said the professionalism and resourcefulness of majority of the Russians he witnessed, was of high order.

"As we began to work together in the UPDF training school, the confidence of the team grew. This was largely as people saw the array of our forces and were assured that our organization and logistics did work and we're improving all the time," he said.

Adding; "In this regard the Russian military specialists were absolutely critical to our success whether in the training field or at the training classes".

UPDF applauds crew

The deputy UPDF spokesperson, Lt Col Deo Akiiki said congratulated the team for achieving the work status.

"It is a huge opportunity for us to be exposed to the word military architecture. This was not only games but also a test of our tank men women's capability in handling tasks across the globe," he noted.

Akiiki said the biathlon games are not just games, but a field of learning, strengthening military to military relationships and sharing experiences among different countries.

"Apart from being a sport, it helps to show the prowess of our tank crew on how to engage in different terrains. This is a great achievement and an opportunity to learn more skills. The skills learnt from this event can be transferred in time of war, involving various tank crews," he added.

Games

The games contain several clusters including; tank biathlon, suvorov attack (competitions between crews/specialists of infantry combat vehicles), aviadarts (competition for flight crews); masters of artillery fire; artillery circulation competition; and clear skies (competition among anti-aircraft units).

Excellence troop intelligence (competition between intelligence departments), open water (competition among dispatching units), safe route (competition among engineering units), safe environment, radiation, chemical and biological defense forces' competition; international army scoutmasters competition.