Top military officials from Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan are participating in the meeting.

“Representatives of official delegations will discuss the results of the 2008 activities of the Coordinating Committee on air defence issues and further development of the system of multilateral and bilateral military and military-technical cooperation with the focus on practical events,” the press service of the Kazakh Defence Ministry said. The CIS states will focus on the integration in the air space control, and a higher level of combat training and military education.

According to the Kazakh Defence Ministry, a command and staff exercise of the CIS united air defence system, a joint exercise codenamed “Comradeship-in-Arms-2009” are scheduled this year.

In his opening speech at the meeting Kazakh Defence Minister Danial Akhmetov particularly noted about an agreement signed with Russia on supplies of ten air defence systems S-300. He also said that the purchase of air defence systems S-400 was under consideration. According to the Kazakh side, this will make it possible “to build up substantively the integration in the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) and protect the air space of the country.”

“Meanwhile, within possible budget expenditures we are resolving all issues connected with the modernization of radar machinery,” Akhmetov said. He also stated that the total flight time of border aircraft would increase from current 70-80 to 150 hours by 2012.

The CIS united air defence system was created on February 10, 1995. This group of troops includes seven air defence brigades, 46 air defence units, which are armed with S-125, S-75, S-200 and S-300 of various modifications. Meanwhile, the air defence system includes 23 aviation units armed with fighters MiG-29, MiG-31 and Su-27, as well as 22 units of the radio-technical troops and two units of radio-electronic intelligence.

Georgia was a member of the united air defence system before April 2008, but according to the High Command of the Russian Air Force, was not quite active and sent only observers to joint events.

For 14 years of the operation of the CIS united air defence system “air defence troops were actually restored in Armenia, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan,” and Belarus did not only preserve the air defence system, but also made it “one of the most powerful systems in Europe,” Russian Air Force Commander-in-Chief Colonel-General Alexander Zelin said. The Russian Air Force Commander also referred to the experience of building up the air defence system in Kazakhstan, where the system is under complex upgrading now. According to him, the above fact “is one of the most important factors of strategic stability in Central Asia.”

“Practice shows that national border restrictions on the use of duty air defence forces cuts drastically their possibilities. Therefore, the integration of the national air defence systems in collective security regions is becoming the demand of time,” Zelin said.

In February 2009, the CIS states launched the creation of integrated regional air defence systems in three directions - Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia. Then Russia and Belarus signed an agreement creating the united regional air defence system. Draft agreements in other regions are also under development.

The member-countries of the CIS united air defence system check regularly the combat readiness of duty air defence forces and practice the assistance to aircraft. Apart from bilateral exercises the member-countries hold two annual command and staff exercises involving several dozen airplanes, particularly the long-range aviation, and put into service several airfields in Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan. The Central Command Post of the Russian Armed Forces traditionally commands these exercises. In 2005 Russian strategic missile carriers Tu-160 for the first time landed on the airfields in Belarus during the exercises. In 2008 during the exercises airplanes of the CIS united air defence system practiced strikes at supersonic and stratospheric targets. Over 110 unprecedented airplanes and helicopters were involved in this command and staff exercise.