MOSCOW, May 31 (AVN) - The unified federal group in the North Caucasus has sufficient amount of modern closed communication means in all the links of combat management, Lieutenant-General Vladislav Gekov, deputy head of Armed Forces communication, told the Military News Agency.
There are problems, but they mainly concern the staff not the equipment, the general said. At the present moment many officers in Chechnya have not been trained to operate the modern communication means.
For instance in the Itum-Kale district an army battalion is staying near a border guard outpost, both of them are using space communication stations on one band. While they could use one on six different bands and for six different users, Gekov stressed.
He also refuted the common rumour that each and every rebel formation is fitted with the latest foreign models of communication means. According to him, only the guerrilla leaders have satellite phones. While most of the warlords are using outdated SW and FM radio stations. They also cannot establish a network of their own, since such attempts are instantly suppressed. In the course of radio exchange the rebels do not close their information and usually use primitive coding systems.