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Russia strengthens its military
shield
By Sergei Blagov
MOSCOW - Former Soviet defense ministers have
tentatively agreed on new measures to limit the
proliferation of Soviet-made portable air defense
missiles. However, they face a formidable task due to
the huge number of missile launchers already
manufactured, and the reluctance of some countries to
ink an agreement.
Defense ministers of the
Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) met in
Schuchinsk, Kazakhstan, on Monday, and most of them
backed measures to control the export and import of
portable missiles such as the Strela (Arrow) and the
Igla (Needle). From now on, CIS states will be obliged
to inform one another about any export and import deals
involving these missiles, which can be used by
terrorists to shoot down civilian planes.
No
other details of new control measures have been
revealed. Moreover, defense ministers of Georgia,
Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, and Ukraine declined to sign the
deal, while the Turkmen representative failed to show up
at the meeting. This left Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia and Tajikistan as
signatories. Clearly then, loopholes in terms of
portable missile proliferation remain.
Strela
has been in production for some time. The SA-7 GRAIL
(Strela-2) was the first generation of the Soviet
man-portable, shoulder-fired, low-altitude
surface-to-air (SAM) system, with a high-explosive
warhead and passive infra-red homing guidance.
Development of Strela-2 started in 1959 and its basic
version was introduced after 1966. The SA-7a (9K32
Strela-2) was introduced for service in 1968, but was
soon replaced by the SA-7b (9K32M Strela-2M), which
became the most common production model.
The
SA-7a had a slant range of 3.6 kilometers and a kill
zone of between 15 and 1,500 meters in altitude. The
SA-7b has a slant range of about 4.2km and a ceiling of
about 2,300m. To date, Strela-2 has been considered a
reasonably efficient weapon to destroy air targets
because of its simplicity of construction and easy
deployment.
The SA-14 GREMLIN (Strela-3)
man-portable SAM is the successor to the SA-7/SA-7b. The
SA-14 has a maximum range of 4.5km and a maximum
altitude of three kilometers.
The SA-16 GIMLET
(Igla-1) man-portable SAM system, a further development
from the SA-7 and SA-14 series, is an improved version
of the SA-18 GROUSE, which was introduced in 1983, three
years before the SA-16. The SA-16 has a maximum range of
5,000m and a maximum altitude of 3.5km.
The
Strela has been in service with many armies throughout
the world. For instance, the Indian army procured
hundreds of 100 Igla missiles from Russia and in 2002
there were reports that the Indonesian armed forces
planned to procure Igla missiles. The total number of
Igla missiles manufactured worldwide is estimated at
some 50,000 pieces.
Some of these portable
missiles have ended up in the wrong hands. For instance,
the Russian military has alleged that after the Soviet
collapse in 1991, some 150 Igla launchers remained in
Georgia. Russian experts have claimed that serial
numbers on missiles that Russian troops captured in
Chechnya showed that the weapons came from Georgian
stockpiles.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei
Ivanov is in Kazakhstan on a four-day visit that ends on
Wednesday not just to take care of portable missiles. He
warned of the threat of drugs coming out of Afghanistan,
yet he ruled out even a "theoretical" possibility of
Russia sending troops to Afghanistan.
Separately, Ivanov and his Kazkah counterpart
Mukhtar Altynbayev clinched a deal on joint military
planning. Ivanov also announced that some 800 Kazakh
officers were currently studying at military academies
and colleges in Russia.
On Monday, Ivanov
announced that an alliance of former Soviet republics,
known as the Collective Security Treaty Organization
(CSTO), was due to hold anti-terrorist war games in
Central Asia, tentatively called "Commonwealth Southern
Shield".
Ivanov also stated that from next
January 1 CSTO states will be able to procure
Russian-made weapons at Russia's domestic price, a
significant discount. He did not mention whether this
policy would also involve missile technology.
In
April, Russia and five other CIS countries formalized a
security alliance that potentially could help boost
Moscow's strategic presence in Central Asia. At an April
28 summit, Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan formally created CSTO, which
will attempt to provide a more efficient response to
strategic problems confronting member states,
specifically terrorism and narcotics trafficking.
The CSTO is an outgrowth of the 1992 Collective
Security Treaty, which sought to promote greater
strategic cooperation among the signatories. The bulk of
the organization's attention and resources will be
concentrated in Central Asia, with a rapid deployment
force to be stationed at a Russian military facility at
Kant, Kyrgyzstan.
Since the September 11, 2001,
terrorist attacks, the United States has established a
strategic presence in the region, with bases in
Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. Some Russian policymakers
believe that CSTO has the potential to help Moscow
reestablish its high strategic profile in what
traditionally has been its sphere of influence.
In April, Russian President Vladimir Putin
played down the notion that Russia seeks to utilize CSTO
to reduce US influence in the region, saying that the
organization will strive to contain the flow of drugs
coming out of Afghanistan, and counter the threat posed
by radical Islamic organizations in Central Asia.
Moreover, Russia is now confronting Islamic
radicals from Central Asia inside its capital. On Monday
law-enforcement agencies in Moscow announced that they
had detained 121 alleged Muslim militants, including 55
members of the Hizb-ut-Tahrir radical group. The
suspects were reportedly headed by Kyrgyz citizen
Alisher Musayev and Tajik citizen Akram Jalolov. In
February, the Hizb-ut-Tahrir group, which mainly
operates in Central Asia, was officially banned in
Russia.
Meanwhile, Moscow has confirmed it is
determined to launch a major air base in mountainous
Central Asia, not far from the Chinese and Afghan
borders. Ivanov told journalists in Schuchinsk that the
Kant air base in Kyrgyzstan would be fully operational
by the end of this year.
Last December, Russia
and Kyrgyzstan signed the Bishkek Declaration, pledging
closer security and economic ties. The military airfield
in Kant, about 20km east of Bishkek, is supposed to host
a force that will ultimately include more than 20
Russian aircraft and more than 700 troops, eventually to
become the most significant outside Russia's borders
since the Soviet collapse in 1991.
In all, Russia
plans to deploy five Su-25 attack jets, five Su-27
fighters, two An-26 transports, two Il-76 transports,
five L-39 training jets and two Mi-8 helicopters at
Kant. The Russian aircraft will form the core of the air
unit based at Kant at a rumored cost of up to US$300
million a year.
In December, Putin traveled to
Bishkek and announced that Russian air force deployment
was very important. Kyrgyz President Askar Akayev has
urged Russia to become a "main strategic cornerstone of
Central Asia".
The Russian task force is to
provide the air power for a contingent of ground forces.
Known as a rapid-reaction force, this group could total
more than 5,000 troops from Russia, as well as from
Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan, members of CSTO.
In the meantime, Russian experts warn of
potential conflicts among Central Asian nations
themselves. The military and political situation in
Central Asia could deteriorate for a variety of reasons,
notably disputes over water resources, warns Andrei
Kokoshin, head of the CIS committee of the state Duma,
the lower house of the Russian parliament. CSTO should
keep an eye on this problem, Kokoshin was quoted by the
Russian Information Agency (RIA) as saying.
(Copyright 2003 Asia Times Online Co, Ltd. All
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