RUSSIAN FORCES FORM THE CORE OF THE CIS AIR DEFENSE SYSTEM
RIA Novosti
February 12, 2010
Moscow
MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti military commentator Ilya Kramnik) – On February
10 fifteen years ago, the leaders of the Commonwealth of Independent
States (CIS) met in Almaty, then capital of Kazakhstan (Central Asia),
to sign an agreement to create a joint air defense system. In February
2010, they held a jubilee meeting of the Committee on Air Defense at
the CIS Council of Defense Ministers.
The CIS leaders established the joint air defense system to preserve
the remaining elements of the once powerful Soviet air defense. It
comprised the air defense systems of Armenia, Belarus, Georgia,
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan
and Ukraine.
In 2008, Georgia terminated its membership in the CIS and consequently
withdrew from the joint air defense system.
Since Russia’s Air Force and Air Defense Force form the core of the
CIS Air Defense System, changes in them affect the joint system. It
is therefore not surprising that the February meeting focused on the
future of these branches of the Russian military.
Alexander Zelin, commander-in-chief of the Russian Air Force and Air
Defense Force, said the reform program would continue. The structure
and composition of the Air Force will be simplified to cut down on the
various aviation categories, leaving the strategic, transport and army
aviation intact. Frontline bomber, assault, fighter and reconnaissance
units will be consolidated into tactical aviation like in the West.
The change proceeds from several trends. First, the new aircraft
supplied to the Russian Air Force and its updated planes can now
fulfill a variety of missions depending on weapon and equipment
configuration.
Second, the reform entails a transition from aviation regiments
to air force bases, which can be equipped with different types of
aircraft depending on their objectives. This renders the air force’s
traditional division categories obsolete.
Until recently, the rearmament of the Russian Air Force and Air
Defense Force was proceeding sluggishly. The media and professionals
expressed dissatisfaction with the slow supply of the latest S-400
(SA-21 Growler) air defense systems to the Air Defense Force.
But Gen. Zelin said supplies of the S-400 systems have been coordinated
and will be fulfilled on time.
Unfortunately, that optimistic statement has not been backed with
facts. According to available information, Russia’s armed forces
currently have three to five S-400 battalions, and another 23
battalions are to be supplied by 2015.
Zelin also confirmed the recent statement by Prime Minister Vladimir
Putin, who said that the first fifth-generation fighters would be
supplied to the armed forces in 2013 and that full production would
begin in 2015.
However, many analysts say the 5G fighter jets will actually come
later, in particular because a new-generation engine, and possibly
new armaments and electronic systems, are still not ready.
Overall, the rearmament of Russia’s Air Force and Air Defense Force is
gaining momentum, with more new aircraft, helicopters and air defense
systems supplied every year. If the trend persists, rearmament may
reach the necessary pace within the next few years.
At the same time, modernization of existing weapons, including
strategic bombers and army helicopters, will continue and new equipment
will be provided for the Air Force’s command and control component.
The capabilities of the early warning system have grown considerably
over the past few years, with several new-generation radar units
built to replace both obsolete systems and the radar units lost as
a result of the Soviet Union’s dissolution.
Although they shrank dramatically in the post-Soviet period, Russia’s
Air Force and Air Defense Force are still the third most powerful in
the world, after the U.S. Air Force and the combined NATO forces.
The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s and do not
necessarily represent those of RIA Novosti.