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According to the plan of the joints actions of the units of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) joint air defense system (JADS), the units of Armenian Air Defense Forces are participating in combat firing drills underway at Ashuluk training ground near Russia’s Astrakhan, defense ministry reported on Tuesday in a release.
By Viktor Litovkin,
The Armenian parliament has ratified an agreement between Moscow and Yerevan on the establishment of a single air defense system in the Caucasus region. On Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin asked the Russian State Duma to also approve the agreement, which is aimed at improving security along Russia’s southern border.
The agreement is concluded for a period of five years with the option to extend it for another five years.
Experts and military analysts regard the agreement as beneficial to both parties, particularly because it allows increased monitoring of Turkey.
Benefits to Armenia
“Under this agreement, we shall be able, when carrying our regional air defense tasks, to use Russian fourth-generation multi-role jet fighters, S-300 systems, their anti-missile and radar capabilities for aerial reconnaissance,” Armenian Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan told the country’s public television station Armenia 1.
Armenia already hosts Russia’a 102nd Military Base in Gyumri. The base is the home of the 988th Surface-to-Air Missile Regiment, which is equipped with an S-300V missile system as well as the relevant aircraft detection, tracking and missile guidance radars. Tank, motor-rifle and artillery units are also based there.
There are three MiG-29 squadrons deployed in the region, which if necessary can intercept enemy aircraft and, together with surface-to-air missile units, provide Armenia with effective air defense.
The Russian units will support Yerevan’s own substantial air defense capabilities, which include Soviet-made SAM systems such as the S-125 Neva with a range of up to 12 miles, the Krug with a range of 27 miles, the newer and more modern S-300PS surface-to-air missile systems with a range of 93 miles and the short-range missile systems Osa-AKM, Shilka, Strela-10 and Igla.
Once joined with the Russian air defense system, the Armenian Air Defense Troops will have access to all the information available to Russian Southern Military District units and the country’s air and missile defense troops.
However, the air defense above Nagorno-Karabakh will remain the remit of the Armenian Defense Ministry; Russian air defense systems will not be involved there.
Benefits for Russia
“Russia and Armenia do not have common airspace, they are separated by Georgia. The joining together of their air defense systems will allow Moscow to create an additional ‘air defense umbrella’ beyond its borders,” said former deputy air defense commander of the Russian Ground Troops, Ret. Lt. Gen Alexander Luzan.
He added that the new agreement will be an additional check on Turkey, which is both the strongest military power in the region and has the backing of NATO. “We know from experience what Ankara may do even without Brussels’ approval or contrary to its wishes. Whereas, a joint Russian-Armenian air defense system will become a serious warning to it,” Luzan said, noting that the 102nd Military Base had already acted as a deterrent to Turkish moves in the region.
Armenia is also on the frontline of air and missile defense for the Collective Security Treaty Organization. The new Armenia-Russia agreement will act in cooperation with other agreements already in place between CSTO countries, including a joint air defense system of the Western region (Belarus-Russia) and a joint air defense system of the Central Asian region (Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia).
“The establishment of a joint CSTO air defense system is a strategically important decision. Furthermore, Russia, Armenia, Belarus and other CSTO countries are creating a single radar field, which should ensure air defense against threats posed by NATO member states, and Turkey in particular,” said Ret. Lt. Gen Norat Ter-Grigoryants, a former deputy chief of staff of the USSR Ground Troops and one of the founders of the Armenian Armed Forces.
Viktor Litovkin is a military observer for the TASS news agency. This article originally appeared at Russia Beyond the Headlines.
Source: http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Security-Industry/2016/10/12/Russia-Armenia-to-set-up-joint-air-defense-system-in-the-Caucasus/3711476290768/
The creation of a joint air defense system will enable Armenia to use Russia‘s defense potential to carry out regional military tasks, the country’s top military official said Tuesday, June 28.
Russia and Armenia on December 23, 2015 signed a collective security deal on a united regional air defense system in the Caucasus.
The air defense agreement between Russia and Armenia has been signed by the heads of defense of the two countries, Sergey Shoigu and Seyran Ohanyan.
“Under the agreement, we’ll be able to make use of 4th generation multifunctional Russian fighter jets, S-300 missile systems, plus not just air defense but also missile defense facilities,” Ohanyan said, according to Aysor.am.
“We’ll use Russia’s capabilities for radiolocation, aerial reconnaissance purposes.”
Weighing on the public’s concerns over the management of the system, the Minister said: “Both at peaceful times and during military operations, Armenia’s air defense and aviation command staff will implement the management of the system’s Armenian sector. The General Staff and the Air Defense and Aviation Department of the Armed Forces will give commands in case of necessity.”
(sputniknews) A joint Russian and Armenian air defense system project was launched long ago and is not connected to the ongoing turmoil in the Middle East. Nevertheless, the crisis in the region proves the necessity of such measures, political analyst Sergei Minasyan said.“The system will comprise air defenses and Russian combat jets deployed to the Southern Military District. This would allow for monitoring the airspace far from the Armenian borders. The system will also help modernize Armenian air defenses and improve their operational range,” Minasyan told Sputnik Radio.
According to him, the initiative was launched long ago.
“It has been in the development for over 10 years. And now it’s just a coincidence with the Syrian conflict. The situation in the so-called Greater Middle East just proves that the measures are effective,” the analyst said.
Minasyan underscored that Moscow and Yerevan laid groundwork for the project back in the 1990s.
“From political and strategic points of view there have been no significant changes. The system still works. Russia and Armenia coordinate their actions in patrolling the airspace. The new joint air defense system would just be more effective,” he said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has instructed the government to sign an agreement with Armenia on the creation of a joint regional missile defense system in the Caucasus, Sputniknews.com reports, citing a decree published earlier on Wednesday.
“Accept the proposal by the government of the Russian Federation on signing an agreement between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Armenia on creating a Joint Regional System of Anti-Air Defense in the Caucasus region of collective security,” the document reads.
The opening ceremony of ‘Combat Commonwealth 2015’ joint air-defense exercises of CIS countries took place in the Ashuluk training range in Russia’s Astrakhan region, Armenian Defense ministry said.
Troops from CIS countries are taking part in the military drills – Armenia, Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan.
The Russian Defense Ministry’s press service reported yesterday that the drills involve anti-aircraft missile systems ‘S-400 Triumph’ and “S-300 Favorite’ as well as 40 crews of combat aircraft MiG-29, Su-24, Su-24, Su-27, Su-30, Su-25, MiG-31 and Tu-22M3.
Source: Panorama.am