MOSCOW. Sept 22 (Interfax-AVN) -- The Russian airbase at the Kyrgyz community of Kant will house planes and helicopters of various types, including SU-27 Flanker fighters and SU-25 Frogfoot attack planes, Major General Oleg Latypov of the Russian Defense Ministry's international military cooperation department told Interfax-Military News Agency on Monday.
"Taking into consideration the wide range of duties the Russian airbase in Kant will perform, it is expected to house different types of frontline, military transport and army aircraft," he said.
"In addition, Kyrgyzstan is handing over to the Russian airbase L-39 trainers for training its pilots," he noted.
"The Russian airbase personnel is to include several hundred military servicemen and about a hundred civilians," Latypov said.
The base's main purpose will be "to ensure Russia's and Kyrgyzstan's joint security. It is stipulated that the base's potential can be used in combat duty activities together with air defense units. In addition, as a component of the Collective Rapid Deployment Forces in Central Asia, the airbase's potential can be used for implementing decisions made by the Collective Security Council," he said.
"All aspects of the use of aircraft stationed in Kant for combat purposes will be decided on taking into account Russia's and Kyrgyzstan's joint plans," Latypov said.
He recalled that the drafting of the intergovernmental agreement between Russia and Kyrgyzstan on the status and terms of stationing of the Russian airbase on the Kyrgyz territory was launched after the presidents of the nations participating in the Collective Security Treaty Organization made a decision to this effect. This happened at the organization's summit in Dushanbe in 2002.
Over 10 aircraft are expected to be based in Kant.