"We have all manpower and equipment we need to cope with the mission if we get such an order," he said to newsmen.
The Air Force is ready to use up its entire arsenals to destroy terrorists, if need be, reassured General Mikhailov.
The Russian Air Force has scheduled flights to the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans for next year, and its missions are spectacularly extended. Same for pilot training in the new academic year, which the Russian Armed Forces started, December 1, he added.
General Mikhailov visited the Engels air base on the Volga today to award the Russian Defense Minister's pennant to the 22nd Heavy Bomber Division of the Guards for valor and excellent fighting qualities. One of its craft, a Tu 160 long-range missile-bearing bomber, was named after Air Marshal Vladimir Sudets.
The ten Engels-stationed Tu 160s are all named after renowned military commanders and other celebrities. Two Tu 95MS bombers bear the names of Russian cities-Vorkuta and Saratov. Another plane will soon be named "Moscow."
Many alumni of the top-notch Engels air school served with the 22nd Division. 190 of them won the USSR's supreme martial title, Hero of the Soviet Union. One of them, Nikolai Skomorokhov, won it twice. The ace brought down 46 enemy planes during World War II.
