ID :
186006
Thu, 06/02/2011 - 08:27
Auther :

NATO and Russia to exercise together against air terrorism


BRUSSELS, June 2 (Itar-Tass) -- NATO and Russian fighter aircraft will
take part in the counter-terrorism exercise codenamed Vigilant Skies 2011
on June 6-10 - a joint demonstration of the NATO-Russia Council
Cooperative Airspace Initiative (NRC CAI), the North Atlantic Alliance
said in a press release.
This initiative is designed to prevent terrorist attacks which use
civilian aircraft, such as the attacks on the World Trade Centre on
September 11, 2001, by sharing information on movements in NATO airspace
and Russian airspace, and by coordinating interceptions of renegade
aircraft.
As such, the CAI will improve air safety for the thousands of
passengers using international flights between NATO airspace and Russian
airspace each day, and the millions of inhabitants on the ground, the
press release said.
This new airspace security system provides a shared NATO-Russia radar
picture of air traffic and allows early warning of suspicious air
activities through commonly agreed procedures. In situations when an
aircraft starts behaving erratically, the air traffic coordination system
offers increased information sharing and communication to ensure rapid,
joint responses to terrorist threats.
The new system has two coordination centres - in Warsaw and Moscow -
and local coordination sites in Kaliningrad, Rostov-on-Don, Murmansk
(Russia), Warsaw (Poland), Bodo (Norway), and Ankara (Turkey). CAI is one
of the priority areas of the NATO-Russia Council work programme, document
said.
The "live flying" phase of the exercise will take place over two days:
June 7, a Polish aircraft will play a "renegade" aircraft role, taking
off from Krakow. After a flight plan deviation and loss of communication
with the aircraft, Polish fighters will intercept the aircraft, before
handing the mission on to Russian fighters. Following a struggle in the
cockpit, the terrorists will be overpowered, but the plane's navigation
equipment will be damaged and the plane will need to be guided by the
Russian fighters back to Poland. The aircraft will land in Malbork, Poland.
June 8, over the Black Sea, a flight plan deviation and communication
loss will be observed with a Turkish "renegade" aircraft, and coordinated
intercepts by Turkish and then Russian fighters will be carried out.


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