Russia and Tajikistan are working on the ratification of an integrated regional air defense system agreement the two countries signed in April, TASS reported.
According to the state-backed outlet, Moscow is in talks with Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and Armenia regarding “similar deals.”
With Kyrgyzstan, the outlet cited a senior official as saying that a draft agreement on creating an integrated regional air defense system “is undergoing the procedure of inter-state approval,” following which, “the draft deal will be submitted to the defense ministers of both countries for signing.”
Joint Air Defense System
In 1995, Russia and nine former Soviet countries — Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Georgia, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan — signed onto the Joint CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) Air Defense System (JADS). Eventually, Ukraine, Georgia, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan withdrew from the agreement.
According to The Diplomat, an integrated air defense system provides Moscow “greater warning and response times” and “enhances Russia’s ability to coordinate and command joint forces.” Explaining the advantage further, the NGO NATO Association of Canada reasoned that a JADS like system provides Russia a “buffer zone” against any intruder.
“In case of a conflict with NATO or an Asian country, JADS provides the Kremlin with the possibility of hindering an adversary’s intrusion, thereby granting Moscow valuable time to prepare a response,” the NGO explained.
Adding further, it said that the system gives Moscow leverage over the member states and the justification to place its troops on other nations’ territory.
Current State
The Diplomat, however, cautioned that the lack of potent air defense forces with other JADS nations will strongly impact the effectiveness of the architecture.
According to TASS, the integrated air defense system currently comprises “19 aviation units, 38 anti-aircraft missile formations, 15 radio-technical units, nine air defense brigades and three electronic warfare units.”
