KAZAKHSTAN TO EQUIP 10 BATTALIONS WITH S-300 AIR DEFENSE SYSTEMS
RIA Novosti
12:49 | 19/ 02/ 2009
ASTANA, February 19 (RIA Novosti) – Kazakhstan plans to equip 10
battalions with S-300 air defense missile systems bought from Russia,
with deliveries to begin in 2009, a senior military official said
on Thursday.
"We are considering the acquisition of 10 S-300 battalions from Russia
in 2009," said Amanzhol Ospanov, head of the Kazakh Defense Ministry’s
weapons and materiel department.
The official added that each battalion "would comprise four launchers
and support equipment," which could include a mobile command post
and a target-designation radar.
Although Ospanov was not specific about a particular version of the
S-300, he said that these systems had previously been in service with
the Russian Armed Forces and would be delivered to Kazakhstan after
being overhauled.
The latest version of the S-300 family is the S-300PMU2 Favorit,
which has a range of up to 195 kilometers (about 120 miles) and can
intercept aircraft and ballistic missiles at altitudes from 10 meters
to 27 kilometers.
It is considered one of the world’s most effective all-altitude
regional air defense systems, comparable in performance to the
U.S. MIM-104 Patriot system.
Ospanov said Kazakhstan has no plans of buying Russia’s most advanced
S-400 Triumph air defense systems in the near future "because of
their high price."
Russia announced last year it was planning to expand military-technical
cooperation with members of the Collective Security Treaty Organization
(CSTO) and set up an integrated air defense network with them.
The CSTO is a post-Soviet security grouping comprising Armenia,
Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.
Kazakh Defense Minister Danial Akhmetov said on February 12 that the
delivery of S-300 systems "would help the republic’s integration into
the CSTO and significantly enhance the protection of the country’s
airspace."
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
