MOSCOW: Russia’s federal aviation agency Rosaviatsiya has told airlines that changes to routes from Europe to Russia due to a political row over Belarus may result in longer clearance times due to more such requests, it said in a statement published on Friday.
The RBC news outlet reported late on Thursday that Russia would allow European flights to arrive and depart via routes that bypass Belarusian airspace despite Moscow previously denying access to two carriers that skirted Belarus en route to Moscow.
Russia on Thursday withheld clearance for an Austrian Airlines Vienna-Moscow flight plan avoiding Belarus — a day after failing to approve a revised Air France Paris-Moscow route. Both flights were canceled.
It did allow an Austrian Airlines Vienna-Moscow flight to bypass Belarusian airspace on Friday however, the TASS news agency cited the company as saying, and allowed in other foreign carriers on Thursday.
The European Union has urged its airlines to avoid Belarus and has moved to close its own airspace to Belarusian carriers amid outrage over Sunday’s interception of a Ryanair jet en route to Lithuania from Greece, and the arrest of a dissident journalist on board.
Russian aviation authority tells airlines to expect delays on Europe-Russia flights
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Russian aviation authority tells airlines to expect delays on Europe-Russia flights
- The European Union has urged its airlines to avoid Belarus
Indonesia to buy Indian-Russian missile system for coastal defense
- BrahMos missile is one of world’s fastest supersonic cruise missiles
- Indonesian government has been working to upgrade its aging military hardware
JAKARTA: Indonesia has agreed to purchase a supersonic missile system from a Russian-Indian company to strengthen security on its coastline, the Ministry of Defense confirmed on Tuesday.
The BrahMos missile is one of the world’s fastest supersonic cruise missiles. It can reach speeds of Mach 2.8, or nearly three times the speed of sound, and be launched from submarines, ships, aircraft or land.
It was developed by BrahMos Aerospace, a joint venture between the Indian military research and development agency DRDO and Russian weapons manufacturer NPO Mashinostroyeniya.
“Indonesia has partnered with India to strengthen our defense technology and industry,” Rico Ricardo Sirait, spokesperson for the Indonesian Defense Ministry, told Arab News on Tuesday.
“This includes (the procurement of) the BrahMos missile system to beef up our coastal defense, as part of efforts to modernize our weaponry.”
He declined to disclose more information about the deal.
Indonesia, the world’s largest archipelagic state with around 18,000 islands and over 7.9 million sq. km of sea, is the latest Southeast Asian nation to acquire the weapons.
In 2022, the Philippines closed a $374 million deal to acquire three BrahMos anti-ship missile batteries, while Vietnam has reportedly been in talks to purchase the weapons system.
Jakarta has been working to upgrade the country’s aging military hardware in recent years, setting aside big budgets for defense spending.
In January, three Rafale fighter jets arrived in Pekanbaru, Riau, from France, marking the first batch of deliveries of a multi-billion-dollar defense deal between the two countries. The next batch is expected to reach Indonesia later this year.
Last year, Indonesia and Turkiye signed a number of defense deals, including an agreement to set up a jointly operated drone factory and the purchase of KAAN fighter jets.
