REPR OF FAR-ABROAD COUNTRIES TO WATCH CIS AIR DEFENSE EXERCISE

ITAR-TASS
Aug 10, 2011
Russia

MOSCOW, August 10 (Itar-Tass) -~W Representatives of Algeria, India
and Syria will watch for the first time the Comradeship-in-Arms 2011
exercise of the Air Forces and Air Defense Troops of the CIS member
states, Colonel Vladimir Drik, the spokesman for the Air Force of
the Russian Federation, told Itar-Tass on Wednesday.

“The Comradeship-in-Arms 2011 joint exercise with live firing will be
held from August to September 2011,” he said. “Servicemen from Armenia,
Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan will participate in the
exercise. Representatives of Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Moldova and
Uzbekistan will be present as observers. Representatives of far-abroad
states Algeria, India and Syria will watch the active phase of the
exercise,” he said.

“The aim of the upcoming exercise is to prepare and drill the
functioning of groups of air defense forces of CIS member states in
collective security areas in anti-terrorist operations and during
armed conflicts,” Drik noted.

“The total of over 2,000 troops will participate in the exercise. Over
25 units of air defense troops will be equipped with S-300, S-200,
S-75, S-125, Krug and Buk anti-aircraft rocket complexes. More than
50 Mig-29, MiG-31, Su-27, Tu-22M3, Su-34, Su-25 and Su-24 planes will
be used,” the spokesman said. “Targets of 15 kinds will be installed
at the ranges in Ashuluk, the Astrakhan region, and Sary-Shagan,
Kazakhstan,” he said.

“The exercise began on August 3 and will last till October 5,
2011. It and will held in tree stages. The first stage, to last from
August 3 to 7, has the aim to alert the troops in the places of their
permanent deployment. The troop movement to ranges and setting up a
coalition group of air force and air defense units in the region of
a hypothetical armed conflict will be the aims of the second stage,”
Drik said.

“The third stage will last from September 6 to October 5 and will
consist of two parts. During the first part, air force and air defense
units of five Commonwealth countries will function jointly during an
anti-terrorist operation and in an armed conflict on the border. The
use of units of Kazakhstan’s air force and air defense in the Central
Asian region of collective security will be drilled at the Sary-Shagan
range from September 15 to October 5,” Drik said.

Colonel-General Alexander Zelin, the Russian Air Force
commander-in-chief, will supervise the operations in the third stage
of the exercise.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress