The International Army Games (Russian: Армейские международные) is an annual international military sports event organized by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) of Russia. The event, which was first staged in August 2015, involved close to 30 countries taking part in dozens of competitions over two weeks to prove which is the most skilled. The games have been referred to as the War Olympics. In addition to the competition, the International Army Games includes a military theme park, a recruitment station, and souvenir shops.

History

Participant countries of the 2019 International Army Games
  • 2015 International Army Games: Took place in Russia from August 1–15.
  • 2016 International Army Games: Took place from July 30 to August 13. 3,500 servicemen from 19 states fought in 23 competitions.
  • 2017 International Army Games: Held from July 29 to August 12 in 5 countries: Russia, China, Azerbaijan, Belarus, and Kazakhstan. During the games 28 international competitions were held, including 5 new ones.
  • 2018 International Army Games: Held from July 28 to August 11. The competitions were held in Armenia and Iran for the first time. Teams from Algeria, Vietnam, Myanmar, Pakistan, the Sudan and the Philippines also took part in the games for the first time.
  • 2019 International Army Games: Planned to be organized in 32 disciplines hosted in 10 countries starting on August 3 in Korla. Russia, India, China, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Iran, Mongolia, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan are the countries hosting it. India hosted and won Stage 2 of the games, known as the 5th International Army Scout Masters Competition. Uzbekistan came second and Russia fourth.
  • 2020 International Army Games: Held from August 22 to September 5. Russia won the competition while Belarus was second and Uzbekistan was third.
  • 2021 International Army Games: Held from August 22 to September 4, 2021.
  • 2023–2024: Not held due to shortages stemming from the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In 2023, Russian Deputy Minister of Defence Alexander Fomin stated the games would take place in even years.

Editions

YearEditionDatesHost countryEventsChampion
20151Russia13Russia
20162Russia23Russia
20173Russia28
20184Russia28Russia
20195Russia
20206Russia30Russia
20217RussiaRussia
20228Russia34

Competitions

  • Tank biathlon
  • Suvorov Attack ("Suvorov Onslaught"): competition between crews/specialists of infantry combat vehicles
  • Aviadarts: competition for flight crews
  • Masters of artillery fire: artillery calculation competition
  • Clear skies: competition among anti-aircraft units
  • Excellence troop intelligence: competition between intelligence departments
  • Open water: competition among dispatching units
  • Safe route: competition among engineering units
  • Safe environment: radiation, chemical and biological defense forces' competition
  • International Army Scout Masters' Competition

2020 events

Hosts:

  1. Russia
  2. Iran
  3. India
  4. Mongolia
  5. Kazakhstan
  6. Uzbekistan
  7. Armenia
  8. Azerbaijan
  9. Belarus
  10. China

Events

  1. Tank Biathlon = Tank Crews Competition
  2. Suvorov Attack = IFV Crews Competition
  3. Sniper Frontier = Snipers Competition
  4. Aviadarts = Flight Crews Competition
  5. Airborne Platoon = Airborne Forces Platoons Competition
  6. Seaborne Assault = Naval Infantry Units Competition
  7. Sea Cup = Combat Ship Crews Competition
  8. Depth = Divers Multidiscipline Competition
  9. Masters Of Artillery Fire = Mortar Battery Squads Competition
  10. Gunsmith Master = Maintenance Platoons Competition
  11. Clear Sky = Ad Units Competition
  12. Confident Reception = Competition Of Anti-Aircraft Missile Troops Units
  13. Army Scout Masters = Army Reconnaissance Units Competition
  14. Open Water = Pontoon Bridge Crews Competition
  15. Safe Route = Combat Engineering Units Competition
  16. Engineering Formula = Engineering Units Competition
  17. Safe Environment = NBC Reconnaissance Crews Competition
  18. Masters Of Armored Vehicles = Armored Vehicles Crews Competition
  19. Elbrus Ring = Mountain Infantry Units Competition
  20. True Friend = Dog Handlers Competition
  21. Military Medical Relay Race = Medical Staff Competition
  22. Field Kitchen = Food Service Specialists Competition
  23. Guardian Of Order = Military Police Competition
  24. Military Rally = Armored Vehicles Crews Competition
  25. Warrior Of Peace = International Competition Of Military-Professional Servicemen Skills
  26. Falcon Hunting = Uavs' Crews Competition
  27. Road Patrol = Military Police Officers Competition
  28. Emergency Area = Competition Among Emergency Rescue Units
  29. Equestrian Marathon = Competition Among Horse Mounted Units
  30. Polar Star = Special Operation Units Competition

Participants

Note: O = Observer

For the first time, Bolivia and Rwanda participated in the 2022 Games.

CountriesParticipated in
20152016201720182019202020212022
Russia (Host)
Abkhazia
Afghanistan
AlgeriaO
Angola
Armenia
AustriaO
Azerbaijan
Bangladesh
Belarus
Bolivia
BrazilOO
Burkina Faso
Cambodia
Cameroon
China
CubaO
DenmarkO
Egypt
Equatorial Guinea
Eswatini
FinlandO
FranceO
GermanyOO
Greece
Guinea
India
IndonesiaO
IranO
IsraelO
Jordan
Kazakhstan
Kuwait
Kyrgyzstan
Laos
Mali
Mongolia
Morocco
Mozambique
MyanmarOO
NamibiaO
NetherlandsO
Nicaragua
North KoreaO
Pakistan
Palestine
Peru
Philippines
QatarO
Republic of Congo
Rwanda
Saudi ArabiaO
Serbia
SloveniaO
South Africa
South KoreaO
South Ossetia
Sri Lanka
Sudan
SwitzerlandO
Syria
Tajikistan
Thailand
TurkeyO
TurkmenistanO
Uganda
United StatesOO
Uzbekistan
Venezuela
VietnamO
Yemen
Zimbabwe

Greece was the only NATO member state that has officially participated in the games. Since 2020, three largely-unrecognised countries have participated.

Russian groups in opening and closing ceremonies

Members of the ensemble during the closing ceremony of the International Army Games in 2020.

Gallery

See also

External links

  • Media related to International Army Games at Wikimedia Commons
  • . interfiresport.com.
  • . interfiresport.com.activity/
  • . Archived from on 2000-12-06.

?post_type=tribe_events

  • . www.tcpalm.com.