The Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Air Force told how the defense of Moscow and the Central Federal District will change
Colonel-General Alexander Zelin promised on Saturday that the Russian capital and the center of the country would soon be defended by a "significant number" of S-400 and S-500 anti-aircraft missile systems. He also said that the Russian fifth generation aircraft will surpass "all the best world analogues" and commented on the deployment of the Russian Air Force in Abkhazia.
Priority order
The air defense of Moscow and the Central Industrial Region of the Russian Federation is being rearmed with new types of weapons, including the S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems and, in the future, S-500, the Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force (Air Force) Colonel-General Alexander Zelin said on Saturday.
“We have an air defense system in Moscow and the Central Industrial Region (CPR), which functions, fulfilling its tasks, naturally undergoes changes, is re-equipped with new types of weapons,” RIA Novosti quoted him as saying.
Alexander Zelin stressed that all issues related to the air defense of the Russian capital and the central control center are resolved in a timely manner - both by aviation and by direct air defense forces. And to improve this protection, the Russian army will acquire modern equipment.
“Until 2020, we will purchase a very significant amount of S-400s. We are not talking about a few anti-aircraft regiments, but about a much larger number. We are also talking about the S-500 anti-aircraft missile systems,”the Air Force commander-in-chief emphasized.
He is convinced that the schedule for the delivery of weapons will be adhered to: "All the plans that we have proposed, reviewed and approved, since the development of air defense, aerospace defense and missile defense are a priority in the construction of the Russian Armed Forces," he previously explained to the ITAR agency -TASS.
Note that now the Russian army is armed with three divisions of anti-aircraft missile systems (SAM) S-400 "Triumph". The first division was put on alert in 2007 in Elektrostal near Moscow.
The Triumph air defense missile system is designed to destroy aircraft made using the Stealth technology, small cruise and operational-tactical missiles, as well as ballistic missile warheads flying at speeds of up to 4.8 km per second at a range of up to 400 km. The S-400 is capable of replacing three S-300 systems at the same time.
As for the developed S-500 system, the chief of the anti-aircraft missile forces of the Air Force, Major General Sergei Popov, said a month ago that it would be capable of destroying even promising air targets. “Those modern aircraft, which are now available and are being developed by our potential enemy, they are not a big problem even for satisfactorily prepared crews of anti-aircraft missile forces,” he explained.
“The new system, which is now being developed - the S-500, has made the next next step, at least 15-20 years ahead of our potential enemy,” Sergei Popov expressed confidence.
Also the best
"Surpass all the best world analogues" will also be the newest Russian aircraft of the fifth generation - the promising complex of front-line aviation (PAK FA) T-50, which is being created by the Sukhoi company, said Air Force Commander-in-Chief Alexander Zelin on Saturday.
He especially noted that at present there are no organizational or technical problems to solve this problem: “Everything is going according to plan, on time. In 2013, we must receive a preliminary opinion, which will allow us to start purchasing new aircraft. In 2015, the aircraft will begin to enter the troops,”the commander-in-chief said, adding that the Air Force command plans to purchase more than 60 T-50 aircraft.
Earlier, First Deputy Defense Minister Vladimir Popovkin said: “With this machine, the sequence is as follows: While we are testing one device. By the end of this year, another plane should appear. During 2011-2012 we plan to complete all tests of the PAK FA airframe. And in 2013 we will conclude a contract for an initial batch of ten aircraft to test the entire range of aircraft weapons.
To confirm its tactical and technical characteristics, it is necessary to perform about 3 thousand flights. If the work was done with only two machines, it would have taken ten years."
“We hope to complete the first stage of testing by the end of 2013. And from 2016, we will begin the serial purchase of already fully tested vehicles, together with aviation weapons and ground-based technological equipment,”he summed up. At the moment, the Air Force's needs for aircraft of this type are estimated at 50–100 aircraft. “It is difficult to say now how much it will be possible to acquire. Everything will depend on funding. But in any case, such orders are spelled out in the new program,”said Popovkin.
No threats
Commenting on the bases of the Russian air force in Abkhazia, Zelin said on the air of the radio station "Echo of Moscow": "We do not seek to threaten anyone, but simply solve the assigned tasks." The high-ranking military man recalled that there are corresponding agreements between the Russian Federation and Abkhazia. He also noted that the flights of the Russian Air Force from the Babushar airfield in Sukhum will be resumed.
“I don't see any problems with the presence of the Russian Air Force in Abkhazia. Together with the leadership of Abkhazia, we must revive and ensure regular flights from the airfield in Sukhumi, so that Abkhazia can communicate with the whole world, no matter what, the Air Force commander-in-chief stressed.
Recall that after the commander-in-chief of the Russian Air Force announced that Russia had deployed the S-300 system on the territory of Abkhazia, on Wednesday, Georgian State Minister for Reintegration Temur Yakobashvili assessed this as "an inadequate step by Russia towards Georgia."
At the same time, in his opinion, the deployment of the Russian S-300 system on the territory of Abkhazia is directed more against NATO and the United States, which are deploying their missile defense systems in Eastern Europe, rather than against Georgia.
