Kazakhstan spends $3.7 million on Joint CIS Air Defense System

Kazakhstan is going to spend over 570 million tenge ($3.7 million) on the Joint CIS Air Defense System (JADS), Tengrinews reports citing the press-service of the Defense Ministry of Kazakhstan. Three countries are funding the JADS: Kazakhstan, Russia and Belarus. "Roughly 573 million tenge ($3.7 million) have been set aside in the budget of the Defense Ministry for development of the Joint CIS Air Defense System in 2014, including the provisions for sustaining of operation of the AA Defense Coordination Committee of the CIS in the amount of around 1.5 million tenge ($9,800)," the Ministry said. The JADS is the first and only defense system the really exists in the CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States). Since the year of its creation the amount of defense equipment at the European border of the CIS was doubled and at the souther border was was increased 1.5-fold. The JADS forces are currently holding joint drills - from August 13 to October 20 - that include field firing exercises. The active phase of the drills has already been completed. It took place at Saryshagan training site in Kazakhstan and at Ashuluk in Russia. The Joint CIS Air Defense System is a unified system that comprises air defense units and elements of several former Soviet republics under supervised by by AA Defense Coordinating Committee of the CIS. There are 6 de facto members of the JADS: Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. The JADS was established on February 10, 1995 by the Almaty Agreement. This agreement was also signed by Georgia, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan, however Georgia and Turkmenistan ceased their membership in 1997, while Ukraine and Uzbekistan are maintaining cooperation with Russia on bilateral basis.