A new Russian air space defence command began operations on Thursday, in move a Kremlin officials have said is necessary to help protect the country from a planned NATO missile shield, dpa reported. The new military organization will for the first time unite under a single commander Russian spy satellites, early-warning radars and other watch systems monitoring approaches to the country from space, the state news agency Itar-Tass reported. The command, called the Air Cosmic Defence (ACD), also will have direct control of interception systems that would be used against missiles or re-entry vehicles threatening Russia from space, the report said. The ACD will act as "the first line of defence" of Russia's air space, said Lieutenant General Oleg Ostapenko, in a statement. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Tuesday presided over the opening of a massive new air defence radar in the western province Kaliningrad which, he said, would help protect Russia from a controversial missile shield planned by NATO. The NATO missile shield, which has Washington's strong support, plans the construction of an early-warning network which would detect and destroy missiles. Planners have said the system is needed to protect NATO nations from a possible strike from the Middle East, and is not aimed at Russia. Medvedev and other top Kremlin officials have said the planned NATO system directly threatens Russia's nuclear deterrent forces and would give Brussels a powerful advantage in a confrontation with Moscow. Russia has threatened to station surface-to-surface missiles in Kaliningrad, to end cooperation with NATO on Afghanistan and to beef up its conventional forces opposite NATO, if the NATO missile shield is built.
