Russia's long-range Tu-22M3 bombers will engage simulated illegal armed groups at the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) drills in Kyrgyzstan, the Russian Central Military District said Tuesday.

"Three long-range Tu-22M3 bombers were transferred to operational airfields in western Siberia, from where they will perform combat training missions over Kyrgyzstan," an aide to the district’s commander Col. Yaroslav Roshchupkin said Tuesday.

The pilots conducted reconnaissance of the training area and worked out joint cooperation at a combined air control operations room at a range in the Kyrgyz town of Cholpon-Ata.

The maneuvers include over 1,000 troops from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia, 200 armored vehicles and 20 aircraft and helicopters. Their practical phase at the Edelweiss range are scheduled to wrap up on October 7.

The joint drills of the collective rapid deployment forces are part of the drills dubbed "Rubezh-2016" ("Boundary-2016") held in Central Asian countries.

The CSTO is an intergovernmental military alliance of former Soviet states, which comprises Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan.