Russia confirms spy drone deal with Israel
11:38 10/04/2009
MOSCOW, April 10 (RIA Novosti) - The Russian Defense Ministry has signed a deal with an Israeli company to buy several unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), a Russian deputy defense minister said on Friday.
"We have closed a deal with an Israeli company on the delivery of a range of UAVs," said Vladimir Popovkin, who is responsible for military procurements.
The Russian business paper Kommersant reported on Tuesday that a contract signed with Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) envisioned the purchase of the Bird-Eye 400 mini-UAV (weight - 5kg, range - 10 km), I-view MK150 tactical UAV (160 kg, 100 km), and Searcher Mk II medium-range UAV (426 kg, 250 km).
The Russian military stressed the need to provide its Armed Forces with advanced means of battlefield reconnaissance in the wake of a brief military conflict with Georgia last August, when the effectiveness of Russian military operations was severely hampered by the lack of reliable intelligence.
The Russian Air Force has launched a number of UAV development programs for various purposes. Air Force Commander, Col. Gen. Alexander Zelin said last year that Russia would deploy advanced unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) with a flight range of up to 400 kilometers (250 miles) and a flight duration capability of up to 12 hours by 2011.
However, Russian defense companies, including the MiG corporation, the Russian Helicopters and the Vega Radio Engineering Corp., have failed so far to provide the military with effective spy drones.
Popovkin said that buying foreign spy drones was a temporary measure, and the purchases were designed "to show our industry what it [a spy drone] is."
"We will rely on our own equipment to fight wars," he said.
According to various estimates, the Russian military needs up to 100 UAVs and at least 10 guidance systems to ensure effective battlefield reconnaissance in case of any military conflict.
E da CI4 de 2011 ("uma mão lava a a outra"):
Russia thwarted in bid for advanced Israeli UAVs, leaked U.S. cable shows
By Nabi Abdullaev and Barbara Opall-Rome
January 04, 2011
http://www.c4isrjournal.com/story.php?F=5242569
Russia sought to buy sophisticated unmanned aircraft from Israel, but settled for less-advanced systems after the U.S. expressed concerns about the deal, according to a U.S. State Department cable released by the WikiLeaks organization.
Dated Dec. 22, 2009, the cable from the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv describes the Dec. 1-2 visit of Ellen Tauscher, the U.S. defense undersecretary for arms control and national security, to Israel and her meetings with senior Israeli officials.
The message sheds new light on a quid pro quo arrangement in a deal signed in September between Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov and his Israeli counterpart, Ehud Barak. The negotiations began after the August 2008 war with Georgia, when the Russian Defense Ministry began seeking to acquire advanced Israeli unmanned planes.
An Israeli defense source said Israel seriously considered Russia’s proposed $1 billion purchase of advanced UAV technology, but had been clear that U.S. counterparts “would not be happy if it went to Russia, and extremely upset if it ever made its way to China.”
Israel’s Ministry of Defense eventually denied Russia’s request for the high-end Heron 1 aircraft, multimission payloads and manufacturing capabilities. Instead, the ministry approved kit exports for older Searcher medium-range unmanned planes, the short-range I-View, and the infrastructure needed for final assembly in Russia.
Israel also said it would indefinitely freeze export licenses to Georgia and would consult with Moscow on arms sales to former satellite states such as Kazakhstan. In exchange, Russia agreed to consider Israeli concerns about Moscow’s arms sales to Syria, Iran and other states.
In June, the Russian Defense Ministry purchased a dozen drones for $53 million from Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI). The UAVs included the I-View MK150, the Searcher MK II and the Bird Eye 400 mini-UAV.
In September, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev ordered the nullification of the 2007 contract under which Russia would have sold Iran S-300 anti-aircraft missiles for $800 million.
The official reason for the move was the June 9 U.N. Security Council resolution banning arms exports to Iran. The U.S. and Israel have been pressing Russia not to deliver the interceptors.
Less than a month later, IAI and Russia’s state-owned Oboronprom signed a three-year, $400 million contract under which a plant in Kazan is to begin assembling unmanned aircraft from parts supplied by IAI next year.
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