MOSCOW (Sputnik): Russia plans to field air defense weapons at its Kant military base in Kyrgyzstan as part of a revamped lease deal, Deputy Defense Minister Nikolay Pankov said Tuesday.
Russian President Vladimir Putin passed the changes, which include the deployment of drones, to the lower house of the national parliament for debate last December.
“The next phase will be installing air defense systems at the Russian military base,” Pankov said in parliament.
Russia also plans to upgrade infrastructure at the Kant airfield.
The base is located near the northern Kyrgyz city of Kant, not far from the capital of Bishkek. The base provides air cover to land operations of the CSTO regional security bloc.
