Article Posted on : - Dec 01, 2011

MOSCOW (BNS): Russia's newly created Aerospace Defence Forces (VKO) officially began duty on Thursday, a news report said.

The VKO brings together the Russian air defence and missile defence systems, as well as the early missile warning and space control systems, under a unified command, a Ria Novosti report said.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev had proposed the creation of the VKO to replace the Russian Space Forces.

"The VKO system is capable of destroying enemy ballistic missiles attacking important state objects, observe space objects, detect threats to Russia from space, and respond to such threats if needed, as well as launch spacecraft and fulfill other tasks," VKO spokesman Alexei Zolotukhin was quoted as saying.

More than 3,000 military and civil personnel will join the Aerospace Defence Forces' units on a daily basis, Zolotukhin said.