Story highlights International Army Games events let countries compete to prove military might

Events are attended by Russian dignitaries and thousands of spectators

Moscow (CNN) In a muddy field in a suburb west of Moscow, military personnel take part in tank warfare, fire artillery and dogfight in state-of-the-art fighter jets.

But this is not a military drill or combat training operation -- it's a spectator sport.

The annual International Army Games involve 28 mostly non-NATO countries battling it out in dozens of competitions over two weeks to prove which nation has the most military might.

Russia always comes out on top.

A plane flies over the grounds of the 2017 Russia Army Games in Alabino, Moscow on August 12.

The Russian team took first place in the medals table after Saturday's final day, preserving a 100% record of victory since the games began in 2015. Kazakhstan and China took second and third place, with Iran and Venezuela also in the top 10.

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