Russian AF Deployment to Kant AB, Kyrgyzstan

‘cos I know we have some Flanker fans here….
(it seems the Su-27s mentioned come from Lipetsk and the Su-25s from Dushanbe in Tajikistan {201st Division?})

Russian Jets Roar Over Kyrgyzstan Base

Soaring in formation before separating amid a blossom of flares, Russian
warplanes put on a show of force Thursday above a Kyrgyz air base that is to
be Moscow’s answer to the heightened U.S. presence in Central Asia.

In a private air show for visiting Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov,
three Su-27 fighters screamed across the cold skies above Kant air base
about 18 miles east of the capital Bishkek, the planned future home of a
rapid-reaction force under a treaty signed by a group of former Soviet
republics.

Later Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin is to arrive in Bishkek for
talks with Kyrgyz President Askar Akayev, and the two are expected to sign a
series of agreements including one to bolster security co-operation.

At Kant, the Russian planes, also including two Il-76 transport aircraft and
two Su-25 ground attack fighters that arrived from Tajikistan during Ivan-
ov’s visit, are testing the facilities for the eventual permanent deployment
of forces under the Collective Security Treaty, whose members include Russ-
ia, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.

The deployment is Moscow’s first significant military response in Central
Asia to the presence of U.S.-led troops in Kyrgyzstan and in neighbouring
Uzbekistan.

Ivanov said a final decision on the forces to be based at Kant will be made
at a May summit of presidents of the treaty member countries, but that the
facilities were sufficient for Russian Su-25 and Su-27 aircraft.

Ivanov strongly denied Russian media reports that Moscow needed to pay as
much as $300 million to base the planes here. Although declining to name an
exact figure, he said it would be an “insignificant amount of money for
Russia.”

The forces will be deployed in the fight against international terrorism,
Ivanov said, without naming any specific threats.

“Security in Central Asia directly affects security in Russia,” he said,
noting that Afghanistan is nearby and that the situation there is still
unstable.

Also sitting on the tarmac at Kant was a group of Kyrgyz aircraft; four L-39
Albatross jets, two Mi-8 helicopters and an An-26 transport plane, that are
also slated to be part of the rapid-reaction force. They last saw action in
summer 2000 during an incursion in southern Kyrgyzstan by the Islamic Move-
ment of Uzbekistan, a terrorist group closely allied with al-Qaida.

“As a pilot, I can say that it’s ready. Maybe there’s some technical details
to be done, but it seems ready,” said Col. Vasily Pinchuk, stepping down
from his Su-27 after the aerobatic show.

Still, the facilities at Kant have a long way to go to come close to what
the U.S.-led anti-terrorist coalition has built at Manas airport, about 22
miles to the west.

There, about 20 F-16 fighters from the Netherlands, Denmark and Norway sit
on a special moveable tarmac brought by coalition forces. The majority of
the about 25 aircraft based there are for operations in Afghanistan.
Temporary barracks house some 2,000 troops. There are entertainment centers
with pool tables and video games, and a base shop that even accepts credit
cards.

At Kant, dozens of dormant MiG-21 fighters sat in disuse near the Russian
arrivals. In the maintenance hangar, paintings of the Soviet flag still
emblazon the walls. Kyrgyz defense officials said some of the soldiers to be
stationed here may stay in Bishkek hotels.

Still, the Kyrgyz troops are anxious to work, with Kyrgyz Defense Minister
Esen Topoyev telling Ivanov at the base that “people are waiting.”

The Russian planes at Kant are due to depart back to their home bases in the
coming days, with different crews rotating into the area over the next
months ahead of their permanent deployment.