Georgian Air Force, which is now a separate unit in the structure of armed forces, will become part of the land forces, according to draft amendment to the law submitted to the parliament by the government.

The government explained the proposal, which has yet to be approved by the Parliament, with a need to improve interaction between land and air forces, as well as to improve command and control of these two forces. The government also said that the move would also help to save funds.

Georgia’s defense funding is GEL 750 million in 2010, which is about 4% of this year’s forecasted GEL 19 billion GDP. 2010 defense funding is down from GEL 897 million in 2009 and GEL 1.547 billion in 2008.