MOSCOW, February 9 (RIA Novosti) - The air defense forces of several former Soviet republics will hold a joint exercise in April, a senior Russian officer said Thursday.
Lieut.-Gen. Aytech Bizhev, the deputy commander of the Air Force, said air crews from Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan, which significantly reintegrated their air defense forces after the Soviet Union's breakup, would make more than 80 sorties during the exercise, using A-50 aircraft with long-range radar detection systems [a counterpart of the Western E-3 Sentry].
He said Russian crews would land in Belarus and Kazakhstan, and Russia would offer its airfield facilities to Belarusian and Kazakh crews.
Russia is also scheduled to hold bilateral air defense exercises with Uzbekistan and Ukraine later this year, Bizhev said.
