BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

19/10/2006

CIS air defence system holds joint exercise

ZARYA SETTLEMENT (Moscow region), October 19 (Itar-Tass) - The allied air defence system of the CIS states held on Thursday a one-day command and staff training with control bodies and forces on duty.

The Russian Air Force's deputy commander Lieutenant-General Aitech Bizhev told reporters that the exercise involved 97 planes, including 39 of Russia.

"The participation of air forces and air defence of Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan was full. The air defence forces of Ukraine and Tajikistan also took part in the exercises," Bizhev said.

He called a feature to the drill the operation of two radar warning planes A-50 over Mozdok, North Ossetia, and Lake Sevan, Armenia.

The plane controlled operation of a Russian air base in Armenia.

Crews of Belarussian fighter jets were controlled from the other plane in an area of Minsk.

"The peculiarity of training was that our control bodies guided duty crews of other countries. We worked on the principle 'from simple to complex', and we shall build up the operational situation in a regime of making it more complicated during the next training," Bizhve said.

He praised the performance of Uzbekinstan's air defence.

"They have made seven sorties and worked very steadily and well," he said.

Source:

http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=10903936&PageNum=0