CIS STATES BEGIN AIR-DEFENCE EXERCISES

ITAR-TASS news agency
19 Oct 04

MOSCOW

Over 70 aircraft and helicopters from seven countries are taking part
in a command and HQ exercise of the CIS joint air-defence system that
began today. “Over 1,500 servicemen from Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan are involved,” the head
of the Russian Air Force press service, Col Aleksandr Drobyshevskiy,
told ITAR-TASS.

“Mig-31, Mig-29, Su-27, Tu-22, A-50 and Su-24 aircraft and also S-300,
S-75 and S-125 SAM batteries are taking part,” he said. “Over 10
issues concerning improvement of the way the CIS’s airspace is
defended will be tackled.”

The exercise is being overseen by Lt-Gen Aytech Bizhev, deputy
chairman of the CIS air-defence coordination committee. The CIS joint
air-defence system has been in operation since 1995.