US, Russian joint military exercise in Far East, Alaska
The Vigilant Eagle international exercises, in which the Russian Air Force and the North American Aerospace Defence Command are taking part and which are aimed at combating air terrorism, are about to start in the Far East and Alaska. Their main task is practicing interaction between controlling bodies and plane crews during joint action to intercept, accompany and handover planes captured by mock terrorists, head of the press service of the Eastern Military District Alexander Gordeyev said. The maneuvers are being held on US territory, in Canada and Russia - in Khabarovsk, Anadyr and the Kamchatka Peninsula. The practical phase of the Vigilant Eagle exercises starts tomorrow. The exchange of information between the parties concerned is ensured by the Russian A-50 Mainstay Airborne Early Warning and Control Aircraft (AEW and C) and by the Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) on the part of the US and Canada. As the scenario has it, first a US plane takes off and flies along the Anchorage -Anadyr- Anchorage route. Next a Russian plane takes off from the Anadyr airfield. Interceptor aircraft attempt to force a passenger airliner, allegedly seized by terrorists, to land, Editor-in-Chief of the "Independent Military Review "magazine Viktor Litovkin says.
