ARMENIA, TAJIKISTAN AND KYRGYZSTAN REBUILD AIR-DEFENSE NETWORKS

Akipress , Kyrgyzstan
April 3 2006

– A deputy commander of the CIS Integrated Air Defense System said
Friday that in the past decade the air defense networks of Armenia,
Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan had been restored from scratch.

“During this time, air defense networks have been effectively revived
in the Republic of Armenia, and much has been done in this respect
in the Republic of Tajikistan and the Republic of Kyrgyzstan,” Lt. Gen.

Aitech Bizhev said, referring to the Commonwealth of Independent
States, the loose alliance that replaced the Soviet Union.

He said that the Belarusian air defense network was by far the
most operationally effective, one of the most powerful in Europe,
adding that Kazakhstan was implementing a comprehensive air defense
modernization program, which could become a major factor in ensuring
strategic stability in Central Asia.

The CIS Integrated Air Defense System is comprised of Armenia, Belarus,
Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan,
Uzbekistan, and Ukraine. Georgia recently pulled out of the CIS
Defense Ministers Council, but is still formally part of the air
defense system.

Over the past decade, more than 100 joint war games and military
exercises have been conducted with up to 60 various aircraft and
other high-tech equipment used in each exercise.

The Agreement on the Creation of the CIS Integrated Air Defense System
was signed by 10 CIS states on February 10, 1995.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress