MOSCOW, October 17 (AVN) - The CIS military co-operation co-ordination headquarters has drafted the federal bill "Concerning the Status and Protection of Airspace of the Russian Federation," a headquarters spokesman said on Tuesday.
The bill is drafted in accordance with Article 71 of the Russian Constitution which says the status and protection of the country's airspace are within the competence of federal governing bodies, the spokesman told the Military News Agency.
The headquarters worked on the bill in co-operation with other interested ministries and agencies, as the document was to take into account Russia's international obligations. Under them, the Russian airspace and the airspace of other CIS members states should be protected by the CIS Unified Air Defence System.
The bill forms a legal basis for organisation of armed protection of Russian airspace, the spokesman said. It defines authority of federal governing bodies, as well as power bodies of the component parts of the federation, responsible officials and citizens working for protection of the population, installations and communications in the Russian territory while the country rebuffs an aerial aggression or when the martial law is imposed.
The document also prescribes the order of the use of airspace and protection of state borders inviolability in peacetime. Under it, the state system of Russia's airspace protection includes the Unified Air Defence System of Russia and Belarus, as well as means and forces of the CIS Unified Air Defence System operating on Russia's external borders.