A meeting of the Air Defence Coordination Committee under the Council of Ministers of Defence of the Commonwealth of Independent States was held in Minsk on 18 September.
The Committee was attended by delegations from the military departments of Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Uzbekistan, representatives of the Secretariat of the Council of Defence Ministers of the CIS member states, the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation of the Russian Federation, military industry enterprises of the Commonwealth countries, and basic organisations in the field of air defence research and training of military personnel.
The CIS Executive Committee was represented at the meeting by Evgeny Klemez, Director of the Department for Security Co-operation. Speaking at the meeting, he said that the unified air defence system of the Commonwealth member states is the basis for ensuring joint air defence against potential air attack threats and one of the most demanded and effective systems of multilateral military cooperation in the CIS space.
‘In the format of the overall development of the CIS unified air defence system, joint air defence systems have been created and are functioning in the regions of collective security, which has significantly increased the capabilities of protecting the airspace of our states. The united air defence system is always ready to perform tasks to protect the Commonwealth states, following the motto: success in the air – victory on the ground,’ Evgeny Klemez stressed.
According to him, the evolution and transformation of air defence systems are caused by the active use of air attack and aerial reconnaissance means, on the one hand, and the growth of automation of control systems, formation of reconnaissance and strike contours in all combat application environments simultaneously, on the other hand.
Earlier, the main means of air attack were aeroplanes; now these functions are performed by helicopters, cruise and ballistic missiles of various ranges, and aerial weapons. Cheaper unmanned aerial vehicles for various purposes have begun to provide solutions to a wide range of tasks.
Evgeny Klemez also noted that the activities of the Coordination Committee make a significant contribution to the improvement of the collective air defence shield of the Commonwealth and are highly appreciated by the highest bodies of the CIS, being the subject of their constant attention.
‘The effective use of high-tech air defence equipment and the promptness of decisions taken, taking into account the high complexity of the processes of reconnaissance, defeat and control of air defence forces and means under the constant threat of fire, are possible only thanks to the professionalism and moral and psychological stability of the personnel, as well as the high level of coherence of the combat units of the air defence forces,’ the director of the department believes.
He expressed confidence that the productive interaction between the Executive Committee and the Coordinating Committee for Air Defence will continue to develop in the interests of integration, strengthening the defence capacity and security of the CIS member states.
The participants of the meeting summarised the results of the activities of the Coordination Committee and its working bodies for the first half of the year and defined the tasks for the second half of 2024, approved proposals for joint operational and combat training of troops (forces) assigned to the unified air defence system in 2025.
Special attention was paid to forward-looking planning for improving the system of multilateral and bilateral military and military-technical co-operation.
At the end of the meeting of the Coordination Committee a meeting of the heads of delegations of the armed forces of the CIS member states was held, during which a wide range of issues of mutual interest were discussed.
Source
Press service of the CIS Executive Committee
