During the “Conduct of combat operations” stage, two main training objectives are being practiced: the occupation by the national contingents of the CRDF CAR of the area of responsibility and the destruction of illegal armed formations that have invaded the territory of a CSTO member state.
The active phase of the joint exercise with the Collective Rapid Deployment Forces of the Central Asian Region (CRDF CAR) “Frontier-2026” has begun at the Koktal training range in the Republic of Kazakhstan. During the exercise, the participating forces are practicing the preparation and conduct of combat operations to destroy illegal armed formations that have invaded the territory of a CSTO member state.
On September 11, 2026, a round table entitled “Kazakhstan–Central Asia–Greater Eurasia: resilience and security amid new challenges” was held at the Center for Social Conservative Policy. The event was organized by the CSTO Secretariat jointly with the Institute of China and Contemporary Asia of the Russian Academy of Sciences (ICCA RAS) and the Center for Social Conservative Policy (CSCP).
The event was attended by CSTO Secretary General Talatbek Masadykov, Director of the ICCA RAS Kirill Babaev, members of the CSTO Permanent Council and representatives of the academic and expert communities of the member states. The discussion was moderated by Yuri Shuvalov, Head of the Information and Public Relations Department of the CSTO Secretariat.
The second stage of the joint exercise with the Collective Rapid Deployment Forces of the Central Asian Region “Frontier-2026” has begun in Kazakhstan
16.09.2026
The second stage of the joint exercise with the Collective Rapid Deployment Forces of the Central Asian Region (CRDF CAR) “Frontier-2026” has begun at the Koktal training range in the Republic of Kazakhstan.
During the “Conduct of combat operations” stage, two main training objectives are being practiced: the occupation by the national contingents of the CRDF CAR of the area of responsibility and the destruction of illegal armed formations that have invaded the territory of a CSTO member state.
Under both daytime and nighttime conditions, the units are practicing practical actions in various tactical scenarios, including repelling attacks by a simulated adversary on checkpoints and populated areas, detecting and destroying explosive ordnance, as well as caches of weapons and ammunition belonging to illegal armed formations.
The experience of modern armed conflicts plays an important role in the exercise. The command and control bodies of the CRDF CAR grouping are practicing training and combat tasks at underground command posts. UAVs of various types are being actively used to control units, conduct aerial reconnaissance, adjust aviation and artillery fire, and deliver fire strikes. Particular attention is being paid to protection against UAVs of the simulated adversary, with an emphasis on mobile fire teams, as well as electronic warfare and air defense. Small assault groups are using motorcycles, quad bikes, and Ulan-1 and Ulan-2 tactical all-terrain vehicles.
The exercise director, Commander of the Air Assault Forces of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Kazakhstan Colonel Makhsut Gusseinov, noted: “During the Frontier-2026 exercise, a dynamically developing situation with continuous escalation has been created. The units have practiced around 40 different scenarios within a short period of time. Their results make it possible to assess the readiness of personnel to respond to abrupt changes in the situation and to operate in the event of a threat of the adversary using unmanned aerial systems and improvised explosive devices.”
The “Frontier-2026” joint exercise involves military contingents from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan, as well as operational groups from the CSTO Joint Staff and Secretariat. The Russian contingent is primarily composed of servicemen from the Central Military District serving with the 201st Guards Military Base. The exercise involves approximately 1,500 personnel and more than 300 items of military and special equipment, including 115 unmanned aerial vehicles for various purposes.
CSTO Joint Exercise Press Center
Republic of Kazakhstan, Koktal training range
