Russia's Cutting-Edge Military Smartwatches Set for Test at Zapad-2017 Exercises

Russian and Belarusian military police will use smartwatches at the ongoing joint Zapad-2017 drills to ensure the staff security and decrease staff enrollment by half, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Monday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The forces will for the first time practice securing field mobile command posts with the use of rapidly deployable technical means of protection, the ministry noted in a statement.

"The Strelets-Chasovoy-1 and the Strelets-Chasovoy-2 [personal navigation] systems, which help decrease staff enrollment by almost half, will be involved in fulfilling this task. This system represents a bracelet worn by a sentry. In case of an emergency, the information [from the bracelet] transfers to senior commanders via the protected channels," the statement said.

Комплекс «Стрелец-часовой» браслет, который часовой надевает на свою руку, браслет связан с командным пультом цифровым каналом связи. pic.twitter.com/AjT4P7SxxR

— Армейский бум (@yddgje5180) 26 июля 2017 г.

Минобороны России приобретет браслеты «Стрелец-часовой» на 400 миллионов рублейhttps://t.co/JRvxKvXCqn pic.twitter.com/zpW0hDziKQ

— TOPWAR (@topwar_ru) 1 сентября 2016 г.

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Maneuvers aimed at cutting the number of paired-up patrols twofold with the help of perimeter security equipment with detection ranges of up to 100 meters (109 yards) and a copter with rotating camera are also planned as part of the drills.

The Zapad-2017 ("West-2017") drills began on September 14 and will be held on Wednesday. The exercises involve about 12,700 officers and soldiers, including about 7,200 servicemen from Belarus and about 5,500 officers and soldiers from Russia.