Azernews.Az

By Sabina Idayatova

Russia and NATO may hold joint "live" anti-terror military air exercises over the Black Sea region in 2013, a spokesman for NATO told RIA Novosti news agency on Wednesday.

The basis for the drills is to be the second joint computer based exercise in the framework of testing Information Exchange System (IES), within the frames of Cooperative Airspace Initiative (CAI), which is one of the programs of cooperation that is part of the Russia-NATO Council (NRC), according to the NATO press service.

The simulated computer-based exercise, dubbed Vigilant Skies-2012, was held on November 13-14 over three CAI geographical areas of operational interest. Exercise Directors from NATO and Russia positioned in the CAI coordination centers in Warsaw and Moscow were in charge of the exercise.

The project is financed by the participating NATO nations and Russia.

CAI was launched at the first summit of the NRC in May 2002 in Rome, and IES CAI was first tested successfully by Russia and NATO in June 2011.

The new security system supports the exchange of radar information on the traffic between Russia and NATO and can generate early warning of suspicious activity in the air on the basis of mutually agreed procedures. If there is any improper behaving in the aircraft, the system coordination on air traffic provides additional information and means of communication for prompt joint response to the threat of terror. The purpose is to foster cooperation on airspace surveillance and air traffic coordination in the efforts against terrorist attacks using civilian aircraft. This helps to enhance transparency, confidence and trust and to strengthen the capabilities required for the handling of security incidents.

Presently the network of CAI IES consists of four units in NATO nations and four units in the Russian Federation. The exchange of air traffic information is conducted in three pairs of Area Air Traffic Control Centers (Bodo-Murmansk, Warsaw-Kaliningrad, Ankara-Rostov-on-Don) interconnected through CAI Coordination Centers located in Warsaw and Moscow. The architecture of the CAI IES enables other NATO and partner nations to join the program at any stage.

NATO and Russia established a council in 2002 as a mechanism for consultation, consensus-building, cooperation, adoption of joint decisions and joint activities. The member states of NATO and Russia cooperate within the framework of the NATO-Russia Council as equal partners on a wide range of security issues.