CSTO's first-ever Air Bridge-2018 drills kick off in RussiaOctober 1, 2018 - 17:00 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The Collective Security Organization’s first-ever joint air exercise Vozdushny Most-2018 (Air Bridge-2018) has begun in Yekaterinburg and will run through October 14, with the CSTO member-states - Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan - taking part, TASS reports. "We are holding the Air Bridge-2018 exercise for the first time. The CSTO member states’ transport planes will airlift large mobile contingents. A total of 3,500 troops and 620 pieces of military equipment will be transported," the Central Military District’s commander, Lieutenant-General Alexander Lapin, said at the opening ceremony. A unified system of control to command CSTO air force and air defense groups had been created with reliance on integrated and combined automated control systems, such as Polyana-D4M1 and Bastion. At the joint command center in Yekaterinburg the CSTO air forces’ representatives will practice joint operations to control the air traffic of CSTO member-states, airlift troop contingents and materiel to the sites of combat training missions in Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Russia. As the Central Military District’s press-service said, the command center will have a staff of 140. "I would like to point out that this exercise is being held within the framework of another one, Boyevoye Bratstvo-2018 (Combat Brotherhood-2018), underway in the Central Asian Region. Before, such exercises never involved the air component. This time transport planes will be used - Ilyushin-76, C-295 and Antonov-26," the deputy chief of the CSTO unified command, Lieutenant-General Nurlan Ormanbetov, said on Monday. Top stories Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". Partner news | Your home is in Armenia – Ameriabank offers mortgage loans for the Diaspora To buy real estate, Diasporans can apply to Ameriabank online to buy, renovate or build a home anywhere in Armenia. Armenia-Qatar ties discussed in Doha The Secretary of Armenia’s Security Council met with the Deputy Secretary General of the National Security Council of Qatar. ARARAT special evening dedicated to Aznavour's 100th Anniv. On May 20 ARARAT legendary Armenian brandy, celebrated the centennial of Maestro Charles Aznavour with a special event. Surveying works underway in Armenia’s Kirants Surveying works are underway in the Armenian village of Kirants in the northern Tavush province. |