Moscow, Nov 19: Russian Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov today criticised Commanders of Russian Air Force for the ''poor'' situation prevailing in the service. ''The problem of ensuring the required level of pilots' training remains most acute,'' Ivanov said, expressing concern over the combat readiness of the air force, at the conference of top brass of the Russian armed forces at the Defence Ministry. Russian President Vladimir Putin also addressed the conference. Citing a number of air accidents recently, Ivanov said that as a result of poor training of pilots, the rate of air crashes has increased dramatically. There were eight air accidents last year, in which 12 were killed, he pointed out adding that in seven cases, the accidents were caused by pilots' errors, and just one crash occurred because of equipment malfunction.
''Let me ask, how will we learn to use new combat equipment which is already beginning to come in army service, if the rate of accidents involving the old equipment exceeds all the conceivable limits, not due to technical failures, but because of human negligence which sometimes turns into criminal sloppiness and bravado,'' Itar-Tass news agency quoted him asking the Air Force Commaders.
The Defence Minister ordered the chief of the air force to make efforts and find ways to rectify the situation, using all the available opportunities for training pilots.
As of now, a pilot's average flying hours per year has come down to 12 to 44, with the minimally required level at 160 to 180 hours.

Ivanov also criticised the general staff for poor performance, saying only the far eastern military district had coped with the task to maintain troops readiness.
Addressing the conference, Putin emphasized on the urgent need of the armed forces to be ready to meet the modern challenges.

''The army should be ready to meet threats of tomorrow, not wars like those that occurred in the last century,'' he said, referring to the new military challenges in view of the threats posed by international terrorism.
Bureau Report