MOSCOW. Aug 9 (Interfax-AVN) - The main command of the Russian Air Force has begun forming a federal reconnaissance and air space control system.
"The system should unite the technical and financial capabilities of all agencies that have radar means in a single entity capable of performing all of the tasks in air defense and air traffic control," Air Force Commander-in-Chief Vladimir Mikhailov told Interfax-Military News Agency on Friday.
In addition to the Air Force, radar assets are used widely in other ministries and departments of the country, he said.
"In the future, all those assets will be linked together in a single automated radar system, a component of the federal reconnaissance and air space control system," Mikhailov stressed.
Experts believe that the automated radar system's establishment and development is a necessary first step towards creation of a more global reconnaissance and information system of aerospace control that would be able to combat a hi-tech enemy effectively in the future.
"Unification of two arms of service sped up integration of radar systems of the Air Force and Air Defense and initiated establishment of a single system of radar intelligence and radar support in air force armies," Mikhailov said.
As a result, missions of the radio-technical troops within the Air Force were expanded considerably.
"While being components of the Air Defense troops, radio- technical units were mostly aimed at participation in protection of installations from air strikes. When strike aviation emerged in air force and air defense armies, the radio-technical troops were assigned the mission to provide radar support to it," Mikhailov said.
According to him, the Single Automated Radar System Development Concept for the period until 2010 has been drafted in accordance with a decision of the Defense Ministry's military- technical council and approved by Chief-of-Staff Anatoly Kvashnin.