From Defence Talk

 

Moscow Sends Missiles To Belarus After Warsaw Gets US Warplanes

Agence France-Presse

Nov 13, 2006 - 5:41:38 AM

 

Russia has sent anti-aircraft systems to Belarus in retaliation against the delivery to Poland of U.S.-made F-16 warplanes, a source in the Moscow-led Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) said Nov. 10.

 

”Anticipating the arrival of the F-16s in Poland, Russia has sent to Belarus four S-300 anti-aircraft systems which have already been put into service,” according to a source at the headquarters of the anti-aircraft defense alliance of the CIS, quoted by the Itar-Tass news agency.

 

The CIS is made up of the former members of the Soviet Union less the three Baltic states.

 

The alliance was set up in 1995 by 10 CIS members (all bar Azerbaijan and Moldova) to protect the air borders of the former Soviet republics.

 

On Nov. 9 Poland took delivery of the first four of the 48 F-16 fighters it has ordered from U.S. plane-maker Lockheed Martin.

 

”The delivery of the F-16 fighter aircraft to the Polish armed forces will have no effect on the security of the air borders of the CIS,” said a senior figure at the air defense headquarters who did not wish to be named.

 

”The headquarters of the CIS anti-aircraft defense alliance keeps a close eye on actions by NATO aimed at widening (its) possibilities in the Baltic states and in Poland.”

 

The four F-16s landed at the Polish military base of Krzesiny, near Poznan in western Poland, where they will be based.

Interesting fodder for possible land/air warfare scenario. There must be some legacy border disputes from the soviet era worthy of at least some F-16 vs S-300/ SA-10 skirmishes?

I don't know about the Soviet era, but certainly there continue to be regular "incidents" in this area (Belarus/Russia/Baltic states), usually in the context of border intrusions. With NATO minding the Baltic states' (Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia) airspace, there's always potential for scenario fodder.