DUSHANBE, August 7, 2015, Asia-Plus -- Tajik servicemen have entered the semi-final of an official Tank Biathlon World Championship entitled “Russian International Army Games 2015” that is being conducted at a firing range in Moscow oblast, an official source at the Ministry of Defense of Tajikistan, told Asia-Plus today morning.

According to him, tank crews from Russia, China, Kazakhstan, India, Armenia, Serbia and Kyrgyzstan will also participate in the semi-final relay race that will take place on August 13.

“The draw for semi-final will be held on August 10,” the source said, noting that four team will enter the final.

We will recall that three tank crews from Tajikistan are participating in the Russian International Army Games 2015 that started at the Alabino Firing Range in Moscow oblast on August 1.

Like an ordinary biathlon, the event features racing and shooting, but here the competitors are not athletes, but tank crews from around the world.

39 crews from 13 countries have taken part in the tank biathlon contest and eight of them have reportedly entered the semi-final.

The Tank Biathlon competition is held in four phases: individual races, 3-kilometer sprints, pursuit and relay races.  The 7.2-kilometer-long track includes a high-speed section, firing ranges, and a variety of obstacles, such as passage through minefields, two uphill slopes, an anti-tank ditch, an obstacle and maneuvering course, mounds, two escarpments, fords, and a model of a track bridge.

The first official Tank Biathlon World Championship was held at the Alabino Firing Range in Moscow oblast in August last year.  The competition was attended by representatives of 12 different countries.