Defence minister briefs Putin on CIS air defence exercises

By Viktoria Sokolova

ITAR-TASS News Agency
April 12, 2004 Monday 8:08 AM Eastern Time

Russian Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov informed President Vladimir
Putin about results of air defence exercises of CIS countries.

Russia’s airborne early warning and guidance aircraft A-50 equipped
with the Shmel radar was used during the joint exercises for guiding
planes of Russia, Belarus and Armenia to targets, he said.

The plane can track 50 air targets at a 230-kilometre distance and
guide to them up to ten jets.

Another feature of the exercises was manoeuvres of planes of three
states – Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia, Ivanov said.

The planes landed at airfields of other CIS countries and later
returned to their own bases.

More than 50 sorties were flown during the exercises.

The main task of the command and staff exercises was to drill
repulsing an air attack and preventing the seizure of aircraft by
terrorists.

“The conducted exercises have allowed strengthening the air defence
system at the scale of the CIS and Russia’s own security,” Ivanov
said.

General Alexander Mikhailov commanded the exercises that engaged
Russia, Armenia, Kazakhstan. Uzbekistan, Belarus and Ukraine.

Air force units of eight CIS states took part in the exercises that
involved 50 command posts and 60 aircraft, including fighter jets
Su-29, MiG-29, MiG-31, assault planes Su-25, combat bombers S-24 and
long-haul bombers Tu-22 M3.

Russia’s air force base located in Kyrgyzstan’s city of Kant took part
in the exercises for the first time.