|
Report: $900M [Russian] Arms Deal [with China] Is Close
Moscow Times By Lyuba Pronina China, the country's No. 1 arms customer, is close to signing a contract for air defense systems worth as much as $900 million, Vedomosti reported Thursday, citing sources familiar with the deal. State arms dealer Rosoboronexport and the Chinese Defense Ministry initialed a contract for the delivery of between four and eight batteries of S-300PMU air defense systems a few weeks ago, Vedomosti reported. The contract will be signed by the end of the year, one source told the paper. The manufacturer of the S-300 system, Almaz-Antei Air Defense Concern, refused to comment Thursday, as did Rosoboronexport. Domestic arms producers and exporters are particularly tight-lipped about deals with China following a bilateral agreement that makes military and technical cooperation classified information. With S-300 systems retailing for roughly over $100 million per battery, four to eight batteries would be worth $400 million to more than $800 million, said Konstantin Makiyenko, deputy head of the Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies in Moscow. China already has 12 batteries of S-300 systems, Makiyenko said. It acquired eight batteries in the 1990s. Earlier this year, Russia completed the delivery of four more batteries, Interfax reported. "While the existing S-300 batteries cover the key administrative and industrial centers of Beijing and Shanghai, the new systems will cover areas that face Taiwan," Makiyenko said. At the same time, China will continue purchasing Sukhoi fighter jets, he said. Last year China reportedly received 19 Su-30MKK fighters and is expected to receive 24 naval Su-30s on a contract from last year. It has been reported that a new deal for a similar number of fighters is in the works and is expected to be finalized with China soon. "I estimate that China will need a further 150 fighters, which they could either buy or manufacture under a Russian license," Makiyenko said. Sukhoi fighter jets are the country's best selling arms product. Some 150 Su-30s and 70 MiG-29s are likely to be exported by the end of 2010, Ruslan Pukhov, editor of the Moscow Defense Brief, said on Thursday. Forty-eight Su-30s may be delivered to China, up to 24 to Vietnam, 24 to Indonesia, 24 to Brazil and 10 to India, he said, adding that MiGs would most likely be acquired by countries in Africa and the Middle East. Here's the link to a Russian webpage about the system, also known by the NATO designation, SA-10d 'Grumble'. A more coherent description is available from this site. An S-300PMU-1 firing battery can comprise up to forty-eight 48N6 missiles on twelve self-propelled 5P85S 8x8 transporter-erector-launcher vehicles (TELs), each TEL carrying four missiles in sealed canisters. An alternative to the 5P85S TEL is the 5P85T launcher-trailer, which is towed by the KRAZ-260 truck-tractor. Launch data and initial guidance for the missiles is provided by a 36N85 (export designation 30N6E1) vehicle-mounted engagement radar, which has three scanning modes for engaging aircraft at ranges between 3—5km and 150km, and for engaging ballistic missiles to a maximum range of 40km. The 36N85 engagement radar can guide up to twelve 48N6 surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) to simultaneously engage up to six different targets. The engagement radar can also be mounted on the 40V6 extendable tower, for improved tracking of low-flying cruise missiles or aircraft. Additional equipment for the battery may include a survey vehicle to prepare the launch site and vehicles to transport additional missiles. Deployment time for an S-300PMU-1 battery is said to be five minutes. If someone more familair with this TMD (Theater Missile Defense) system knows of its Western equivalent and our current countermeasures, please post it here. It's difficult to understand how Russia thinks that these Chinese purchases will not come back to haunt them. I'm sure they need the almost $1 billion in hard currency, but arming their most aggressive neighbor with advanced weapon systems doesn't make a lot of sense. Then again, the Russians aren't necessarily famous for making lots of sense. Posted by: Zenster 2004-08-21 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=41159 |