SAMARA, April 3 (AVN) - Units of the 1098th air defence regiment of the 201st motorised rifle division that reinforce pickets of the Russian Federal Border Guard Service on the Tajikistan-Afghanistan frontier are empowered to eliminate enemy targets in case they invade the Tajik air space from Afghanistan, Colonel Alexander Demchenko, air defence troops chief-of-staff of the Volga military district, said on Tuesday.
The units are stationed in the seven most dangerous areas in the close-to-border zone, Demchenko told the Military News Agency. They are armed with Igla portable air defence missile systems and have all necessary equipment for tracking planes at distances of up to 40km.
Under the standing order, the command to open fire can be given by a representative of the Tajik Defence Ministry whom the 201st division commander is to contact having received a report from the border.