MOSCOW. Feb 9 (Interfax-AVN) - The Almaz-Antei Air Defense Consortium is ready to participate in equipping the test range, being established in Kazakhstan in the interests of the CIS Unified Air Defense System, Almaz-Antei Director General Vladislav Menshchikov has said.
"The consortium's participation in equipping the test range of the CIS Unified Air Defense System in Kazakhstan's Balkhash is one of the promising commercial cooperation projects," Menshchikov wrote in an article, published in the Krasnaya Zvezda newspaper on Tuesday.
According to him, establishment of the Almaz-Antei Interstate Financial Industrial Group will promote closer cooperation between the consortium and the Air Defense Coordination Committee under the CIS Defense Ministers Council.
"The issue has been included in the agenda of the CIS Defense Ministers Council meeting to be held in May 2005," Menshchikov said.
According to him, should the Interstate Financial Industrial Group be established, consortium enterprises could also participate in equipping command and control posts, deployed in the collective security areas, with automated control systems, upgrading air traffic control systems in a number of CIS member-states, conducting research and development, and training experts.
"Establishment of such a group will facilitate joining scientific, industrial, and financial potentials of defense industry enterprises of CIS member-states and realizing defense industry products, manufactured by Collective Security Treaty Organization signatories," he said.
According to him, the CIS Unified Air Defense System is a nuclear war deterrent and one of the major components in deterring and repulsing conventional air attacks. It also provides collective air defense in collective security regions and the required level of the airspace defense information support.
The Almaz-Antei Air Defense Consortium was established in 2002. It comprises designers and manufacturers of short-, medium-, and long-range air defense systems, intelligence systems, command, control, and communications systems, as well as enterprises providing air defense systems after-sale services and maintenance. The consortium incorporates a total of 46 enterprises and research and development establishments.