Russia Protests NATO’s AWACs Plane Flight

(Tbilisi, July 11, 2003, Civil Georgia) – Russian Foreign Ministry in its statement issued on July 10 expressed concern over appearance of the NATO’s AWACs surveillance plane in Georgia.

Georgian authorities gave a one-hour test flight to the AWACs plane on July 9 in the Georgian airspace. According to the Georgian Ministry of Defense Georgia will have the right to use this plane only after joining the NATO.
 
The Russian Foreign Ministry said Georgia would “escalate the already tense situation in the south Caucasus” if it ordered the airborne surveillance systems.

The statement also reads that the appearance of the AWACs plane in Georgia concerns “Russia’s national security,” as AWACs technology “could provide surveillance over a large portion of Russian territory without ever entering the country.”

AWACs radar “eye” has a 360-degree view of the horizon, and at operating altitudes can observe targets more than 320 kilometers (200 miles) away.

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