CIS antiterrorist units beginning exercise in Kyrgyzstan

Aircraft crews doing tours of duty at the Russian airbase Kant in Kyrgyzstan will take part in a joint antiterrorist exercise of special assignment units from the Commonwealth of Independent States. The exercise codenamed Ala-Too Anti-Terror 2013 that begins in Kyrgyzstan Tuesday will last through to September 27, Colonel Yaroslav Roshchupkin, an aide to the Commander of Russia’s Central Military District told Itar-Tass. The Russian Air Force group that will take part in the exercise includes two Sukhoi-25 jets and two Mi-8 helicopters. The assault aviation crews will render assistance to the ground troops that will simulate counteraction to numerous armed formations of the imaginary enemy, while the helicopters will assure the landing of tactical paratrooper units. In the course of the war games, the pilots will be expected to use all the air weapons installed on their aircraft. The crews will be assisted by air navigation and maintenance services of the base. The Kant airbase is subordinate to the 2nd Command of the Air Force and Air Defences of the Central Military District and functions as an aviation component of the Collective Rapid Deployment Forces of the Collective Security Treaty Organization /CSTO/ for the Central Asian region. It ensures security on the territories and in the airspace of the CSTO member-states.