The Ministry of Defense needs 8 helicopters and 8 fighters to protect Moldova’s airspace, and these will cost $240 million, which means 11 annual budgets of the Ministry, reveals a foreign policy report by IDIS Viitorul, Info-Prim Neo reports. IDIS Viitorul expert Veaceslav Berbeca recommends the authorities to not give up the modernization of the national army, even if it means burdening the state budget. Since 2005, the Moldovan airspace has been violated 269 times, sometimes by military aircraft. “Any unauthorized flight can lead to plane crashes because any aircraft, before taking off or landing, gets an air route which can intersect with the route of another plane that doesn’t have a flight authorization”, said Veaceslav Berbeca. According to him, the high number of unauthorized flights indicates an area of instability. This situation could tense up relations with neighbors, who would have to take additional security measures at the border with Moldova. A middle ground solution would be the gradual equipment of air forces with necessary technology. This could reduce the financial and social costs of the modernization of the Ministry of Defense. After the sale of 21 MIG fighters in 1997, the National Army remained with only 6 such aircraft, but none functional. The Ministry’s proposal on the procurement of planes and helicopters has been voted by the Parliament in the first reading.