MOSCOW. Dec 9 (Interfax-AVN) - Creation of a national aerospace defense in Russia will require that the Air Force and Space Troops pool efforts, Commander of the Special Operations Command Yuri Solovyov said on Monday.
"The combat personnel and missions of the Special Operations Command set up on the basis of the Moscow air force and air defense district will remain the same. The future mission is to set up the most advanced national aerospace defense sector. For this purpose, it is necessary to pool efforts of the Air Force, Space Troops including missile space defense, and Land Forces air defense, so that the near space, deep space and air space are in the same hands," Solovyov told Interfax-Military News Agency.
It is not yet clear who will supervise the process, he said.
"Our proposal is to include this formation in the Air Force. There are other opinions on this matter, including the idea to make the formation directly subordinate to the Armed Forces chief- of-staff. I believe that an optimal decision will be worked out soon," Solovyov noted.
He recalled that missile space defense was earlier organic of the Air Defense, then to the Strategic Missile Forces, and then to the Space Troops.
"Naturally, numerous reassignments do no good. That is why more thought should be given to the subordination of the Special Operations Command, or we will destroy everything that was created and preserved over the past years," Solovyov said.
"A joint exercise or training will be held in the first half of 2003 to work out materials necessary for creating a new structure. The exercise will involve the Land Forces air defense, Space Troops and Air Force," he said.
"I believe that further decisions will be made in the process of joint work," he added.
The Special Operations Command was created in September on the basis of the Moscow air force and air defense district, which covered 1.3 million square kilometers. Borders of its zone of responsibility were more than 4,000km long. The district protected more than 140 vital state and military installations in central European Russia.