06 04 02 - Armenia, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan rebuild air-defense networks

ARMENIA.COM 17:09 31/ 03/ 2006
MOSCOW, March, 31 (RIA Novosti) - 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.

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