1 minute read
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 7, ARMENPRESS: Pilots ata Russian airbase inArmenia have looked no further than thehighest heavens forinspiration, painting theimages ofOrthodox saints ontheir planes ina bid tostrengthen company morale. Armenpress reports, citing The Moscow Times that thefaces ofPrince Alexander Nevsky, Prince Dmitry Donskoy andmartyr Mercury Smolensky now adorn theside ofthree MiG-29 jet fighters, theSouthern Military District said Monday.
"The pilots are certain that having thesaints' images onthe fuselages oftheir military aircraft will not only protect them but will also boost thebattle morale ofpersonnel," theSouthern Military District was quoted as saying.
Themilitary press service also noted that thereligious images had been painted onthe right side ofthe aircraft tomake them less susceptible towear-and-tear, as pilots ascend theplanes fromthe left, thereport said.
After thecollapse ofthe Soviet Union in1991, Russia has continued tomaintain military facilities ina number offoreign countries, including Belarus, Kazakhstan andKyrgyzstan inaddition toArmenia.