Balkans move closer to a joint air defence system 06/11/2013 Participating Adriatic Charter countries are reviewing the

technical documentation that will launch a study of air defence needs and equipment !y "laudi#a $utovs%a for &outheast 'uropean (ime in &%op#e )) 06/11/13 Croatia is leading an effort to develop a regional approach to air defence *y 201+ that would *e lin%ed to ,A(-.s integrated air defence system/ officials said $ast 0une/ the Adriatic Charter countries Croatia/ 1ontenegro/ !osnia and 2er3egovina 4!i25 and 1acedonia agreed to implement !6AA7 )) the !al%an 6egional Approach to Air 7efence )) in three phases8 conduct a pre) acquisition study/ acquire the necessary air)defence equipment and esta*lish the #oint air defence (o do so/ however/ Croatia must sign a technical agreement with ,A(-/ and the remaining three ,A(-)aspiring countries must sign an agreement with Croatia to finance the study 9(he te:ts of those documents and their harmonisation on a national level are in their final phase/9 Croatia.s 7efence 1inistry told &'(imes in a statement Croatia provided the participating countries the documents for review and e:pects they will *e signed *y the *eginning of 201; 9(he moment the technical agreement is signed/ the pre)acquisition study for air space monitoring within the !6AA7 initiative will *ecome a pro#ect of primary importance within the framewor% of ,A(-.s smart defence/9 the ministry said in a statement &mart defence is ,A(-.s new concept that encourages equita*le sharing of defence costs through co)operation in acquiring and maintaining military capa*ilities (he cost for each country will *e *ased on the study.s analysis/ said !lago#a 1ar%ovs%i/ president the &%op#e)*ased ,<- !al%an 7efence =orum 9(his is the most efficient way to reach ,A(- standards on their way to *ecoming Alliance mem*ers/9 1ar%ovs%i told &'(imes 1onitoring 1ontenegro.s air space/ for e:ample/ will *e conducted *y the country.s military and civilian radars as well as those of partner countries 9(he defence of 1ontenegro.s airspace )) air policing )) will *e solved in co) operation with ,A(- countries when we *ecome a mem*er of the collective security system/ similar to Al*ania and &lovenia/9 1ontenegro.s 7efence 1inistry told &'(imes in a statement

&lovenia has used the services of ,A(- mem*er >taly to solidify its air defence Air defence is difficult and cost)prohi*itive for small countries/ and most small countries in the region lac% such capa*ilities/ said !o#an 7imitri#evic/ military analyst and dean of the '7?C-,& ?niversity in &rems%a "amenica 97efending the air space is important to security *ut is very e:pensive >t includes aircraft/ radar systems as well as anti)air assets/9 7imitri#evic told &'(imes 1ar%ovs%i said *y investing individually in their own radars/ aircraft/ training grounds/ training/ fuel/ employment and maintenance/ the countries can cover only 1@ percent of the cost 90oining efforts *y participating countries means huge savings relative to individual investments in air defence 'stimated savings are +0 percent for each country/9 1ar%ovs%i said !ut some e:perts said the e:pected cost *etween 20 and 60 million euros annually is still a steep price 9>t is *etter to use these *ig sums of money to purchase aircraft/9 1itre Arsovs%i/ retired general and former chief of 1acedonia.s general staff/ told &'(imes !ut officials said modernising air defence capa*ilities would *e impossi*le if the countries act alone 9AConsequentlyB !6AA7 at present is the *iggest initiative of the AAdriatic CharterB group Personnel from the participating countries are already training in Croatia/9 1irce <#orgovs%i/ spo%esperson for the 1acedonian army.s general staff/ told &'(imes Correspondents "runo "artus in Cagre* and 7ra3en 6emi%ovic in Podgorica contri*uted to this report 2ow will a #oint air)defence system improve security in the !al%ansD 0oin the conversation in the comments section Military: Regional defence co-operation is necessary for stability 2@/06/2013 (he economic crisis/ which has negatively affected defence capa*ilities of countries in the region/ ma%es participation in ,A(-.s &mart 7efence even more important !y Ale%sandar Pavlevs%i for &outheast 'uropean (imes in &%op#e )) 2@/06/13 !al%an countries are participating in ,A(-.s &mart 7efence concept/ which calls for #oining resources to equip and modernise their militaries/ and aids

overall military co)operation and ongoing efforts to participate peace%eeping operations/ according to regional military officials

in

(he latest effort is investment in the !al%an 6egional Approach to Air 7efence through which regional countries will #ointly purchase radar and other airspace monitoring equipment and connect it with the corresponding ,A(- system 9A(he approachB is currently the largest pro#ect and satisfies the greatest need for defence and military co)operation *etween the regional countries/9 !lago#a 1ar%ovs%i/ president of the !al%an &ecurity =orum/ an ,<- *ased in &%op#e/ told &'(imes 1ar%ovs%i said that under the programme/ each country contri*utes 9&er*ia offers its regional centre for nuclear/ *iological and chemical defence in "rusevac/ while 1acedonia offers "rivola%/ one of the *est military e:ercise polygons in the !al%ans/9 1ar%ovs%i said &er*ia has achieved this level of involvement despite its role as o*server/ together with "osovo/ in the Adriatic <roup/ an alliance that includes si: !al%an nations (he synergy reached through &mart 7efence shows it is important to include new countries in the Adriatic <roup/ according to 1irche <#orgovs%i/ chief of the 1acedonian Army <eneral &taff.s pu*lic relations office 9(he increasing regional defence co)operation is definitely a factor for sta*ility/ especially considering what happened in the region in the recent past Co) operation is widespread in many defence areas and each has its wor%ing group Ee co)operate at the level of ministers/ directors/ secretaries of state 'very si: months we organise high)level meetings/9 <#orgovs%i told &'(imes 9(he 1acedonian government decided to participate in the A!al%an 6egional Approach to Air 7efenceB after we reviewed issues related to the future of the aircraft that presently are not operational/9 'mil 7imitirev/ deputy defence minister/ said 7imitriev said maintaining high operational capa*ility is a priority 9A1Bodernising aircraft/ defence systems/ training and reaching ,A(standards has allowed a compati*ility level to other ,A(- air units/9 "ire "olevs%i/ a colonel in the 1acedonian army.s air wing/ told &'(imes (he Croatian and 1acedonian militaries wor% together in the ,A(-.s >&A= mission in Afghanistan and are a part of a regional !al%an team that leads the &chool of 1ilitary Police !osnia and 2er3egovina 4!i25 military e:perts said the economic crisis has negatively affected defence capa*ilities/ which is why using &mart 7efence is even more important

&uch #oint efforts/ including participation in peace%eeping missions/ send a much needed positive message a*out the region/ according to ,ermina Caimovic)?3unovic/ mem*er of the #oint defence commission of parliament 9(hey create an image that presents !i2 as a country devoted to peace and rule of law and legislative co)operation/9 Caimovic)0a%upovic told &'(imes 9Ee are sharing our e:perience regarding military reforms in preparation for 1ontenegro.s ,A(- mem*ership/ and until recently we used the services of the 1ontenegrin helicopter training centre ,ow the roles have changed/ 1ontenegrin cadets are educated at the 1ilitary Academy in &%op#e/ and we offer the services of the new Centre for Pilots (raining in Petrovec/9 the 1acedonian defence ministry told &'(imes in a statement &'(imes correspondent !edrana Faletovic in &ara#evo contri*uted to this report Ehat *enefits can *e reached from the !al%an countries #oining defence efforts