MOSCOW. Nov 29 (Interfax-AVN) - A command-and-staff drill of the CIS common air defense is over, Russian Aerospace Defense Forces spokesman Col. Alexei Zolotukhin told Interfax-AVN.
"The command-and-staff drill program was accomplished in full. Combat preparedness of CIS air defense forces was verified with supersonic, stratospheric and other targets. The exercises once again confirmed the reliability and efficiency of the CIS common air defense system," Zolotukhin said.
The drill of commands and standby forces was held on Wednesday.
Tupolev Tu-160 and Tu-95MS strategic bombers, Tupolev Tu-22M3 long-range bombers, Sukhoi Su-27 and Mikoyan MiG-29 and MiG-31 fighters and Sukhoi Su-25 attack aircraft simulated aircraft breaching the border, violating air traffic rules or being hijacked.
A-50 radar planes from the Russian Air Force broadened the radar coverage of the East European and Central Asian collective security sectors above Belarus and Kazakhstan and assisted in operations of Russian and Belarusian aircraft and Kazakh air defense units.
In all, about 100 aircraft from the CIS common air defense system took part in the exercises, among them jets deployed at Russian air bases in Kyrgyzstan and Armenia.
More than 9,000 servicemen, over 130 command posts from various levels of eight member countries - Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Ukraine - and radio-technical and anti-aircraft missile units attached to the CIS common air defense were engaged in the practice.