Ukraine preparing to rent out NITKA naval pilot training site to China, India

Ukraine is readying amendments to the legislation concerning the operation of the NITKA ground-based naval carrier-deck pilot training site to be able to rent it out, not only to Russia, but also to other countries.

Ukraine's Deputy Defense Minister Volodymyr Mozharovsky said this during a direct telephone conference at the Cabinet of Ministers on Tuesday.

"Amendments have been made to this agreement relating to the settlement procedure and use of the NITKA site not only by Russians, but also others, and the extension of the list of aircraft that can carry out flights on this training site," Mozharovsky said.

He said the proposals to amend the law that governs the use of the NITKA training site are being considered by the concerned committee of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.

The deputy defense minister believes that these changes will allow the Ukrainian side to negotiate appropriate agreements with many countries of the world. "We know that there is an interest from China and India," he said, and promised to include the issue into the plans of military-technical cooperation with other countries.

In September 2013, Russia officially informed the Ukrainian side that from 2014 it no longer plans to use the NITKA ground-based naval carrier-deck pilot training site in the interests of Russia Navy.

The Russian simulator in Eysk will be operational at the turn of 2013-2014.

As known, the NITKA pilot training facility was built in the Soviet era for pilots to practice taking-off and landing from aircraft carrier decks. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the facility remained under Ukraine's control.

The site provides facilities such as a launch pad, a catapult launch device and arrester wires, a glide-path localizer, a marker beacon, and an optical landing system.

Adapted from Ukrinform