Russian Arms Exporter Ran into Money in 2013

Russia’s state arms exporter Rosoboronexport sold $13.2 billion in weapons and military equipment to foreign buyers last year but expects no short-term growth, its director Anatoly Isaikin said in an interview.

“For the next two to three years our main task will be to maintain arms exports at $13 billion, which I do not think we will exceed, since the new types of technology potential buyers are interested in should first be adopted by the Russian army, and only then be exported,” Anatoly Isaikin told Russia’s Kommersant newspaper.

The company fulfilled deliveries to 60 countries and signed 1,202 orders last year. Among the major importers of Russian weapons and military equipment were India, China, Vietnam, Indonesia, Venezuela, Algeria and Malaysia.

Aircraft amounted to nearly 40 percent of the company’s sales last year, anti-aircraft defense systems are following at just over 25 percent, Isaikin said.

“I would say that Russia is ready to offer everything from small arms to anti-aircraft defense systems,” he said.

He added that there has been great interest from foreign buyers in the new Su-35 heavy jet fighter as well as the inexpensive and lightweight Yak-130 fighter.

The director noted that unrest and revolutions in North Africa and the Middle East including Syria have hit sales as “we had made a serious bid for those countries” and that shipments of arms to Syria in compliance with UN sanctions were ongoing.

Isaikin expressed hope that sales to African and Asian countries could be boosted by loans from Russian commercial banks or by swapping arms for mineral extraction rights.

For example, Bangladesh ordered 24 Russian Yak-130 light fighter jets worth $800 million in the final quarter of last year, a Russian newspaper reported.

The deal was paid for with a loan extended by Moscow to the country a year ago, the director of Russian state arms exporter Rosoboronexport said.

The newspaper said that the sale was worth $800 million, citing unnamed sources in the defense industry. The planes are to be fitted with English-language cockpits and delivery is scheduled to begin next year.

The Yak-130 is a lightweight subsonic trainer aircraft designed to mimic the cockpit and handling capabilities of Russia’s more advanced fighters.

The plane can also be configured to carry a small payload of ground attack and air-to-air weapons.

Russia has targeted South Asia as a growth market for arms exports. The country delivered a refitted aircraft carrier, the INS Vikramaditya, to India earlier this month and is in the process of supplying Vietnam with six advanced attack submarines.

Bulava to Continue Gaining the Aim

The Ministry of Defence will continue the cycle of test launches of intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) “Bulava”. The military left 27 missiles of this type, five of which will be returned to the Votkinsk Plant for outfitting of telemetry equipment. The first launch after the failure in September 2013 could take place in May or June this year.

The fact that the military will soon begin to set up a schedule of “Bulava” launchings was unveiled by the source in the General Staff of the Navy. According to him, launches are preliminary scheduled to begin in May or June this year, and they will be carried out from different waters. “In the case of the Barents Sea, everything is easier, because it never freezes as the White Sea and remains open to navigation, said the source in the headquarters of the Northern Fleet. The shooting from the White Sea depends on the ice condition.”

Recall that a new launch of “Bulava” will be the first after the failure in September of last year. Instead of hitting a target at the Kura test site (Kamchatka), the missile drowned in the Arctic Ocean. The next day after the launch the Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu ordered to suspend state tests not only of the “Alexander Nevsky”, but also another Project 955 submarine “Vladimir Monomakh” (in the future as staff carrier of strategic missile system). Simultaneously Defense Minister has decided to conduct an additional five launches of “Bulava” to confirm the performance characteristics.

As the sources in the Defense Ministry report, during the existence of the “Bulava” it was created 46 missiles, 19 of have already started from missile submarines. According to Kommersant journal, of the remaining 27 units five missiles will be shipped from the arsenal in Severomorsk to its manufacturer – Votkinsk plant (Udmurtia). There it will be installed the telemetry equipment, which will enable professionals to obtain data on the progress of the flight and on the functioning of complex systems. The last unsuccessfully launched ICBM was not equipped with it, because the aim was not to check performance of “Bulava”, but the functioning of weapon carrier launches management system.

Officially, the military does not comment the information of “Bulava” launch schedule, as well as the exact number remaining in the warehouses.

Note that after the investigation of the accident, “Bulava” Chief Designer, academician Yuri Solomonov said that the announcement of a further five ICBM launches is not intended to confirm the reliability of the missile. “There are no questions about compliance or noncompliance of missile reliability level”, he said, noting that in the course of further testing of “Bulava” and its regular carriers it will be made possibly more than five launches.

According to the ex-chief of the missile and artillery Navy Rear Admiral Vyacheslav Apanasenko, the decision to continue launches of ICBM is logical. “They should be as long as necessary, and even if some of them are bad, you should not close the program, but to troubleshoot, repair them and continue to test,” he said.

Armored vehicles to Better Resist the Enemy Missiles

Russian armored vehicles will be equipped with radars of the same technology as that of the fifth-generation fighter T-50. According to the documents of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation (Minpromtorg), machines based on the unified track platform “Armata” should get such devices by 2015.

“Armata” developed by Uralvagonzavod Corporation should become a universal platform for heavy tracked vehicles for different purposes. The modular principle should allow creating on its basis as tanks as vehicles for air defense, missile and artillery weapons. The radar for these products, as well as the platform itself will be modular and the components – interchangeable, which will allow in a short time to repair electronics.

According to the statement of Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, tanks based on “Armata” will enter the army in 2014-2015. Development of technology for mass production of locator electronics according to plans of Minpromtorg will last until early 2016. There is no contradiction: the locator will be installed on the assembled vehicles.

The complex of active protection is now on preliminary tests. It is universal and can be installed on any vehicle of the “Armata” platform. These products can be produced without radar, which will be assembled when ready, underlined military expert and editor in chief of the Fatherland Arsenal magazine Victor Murakhovsky.

According to the Minpromtorg terms of reference (available at the Izvestia journal), “Armata” will receive Ka-band radars (26.5-40 GHz) based on active phased array (AESA) made by low-temperature ceramic technology. The same radar is used in the T-50 – the fifth-generation multirole fighter developed by Sukhoi (serial production of the aircraft to begin in 2015).

Active phased array antenna consists of a plurality of cells – microwave transmitters. This antenna is able to quickly change location direction (no need to move mechanically the locator dish) and has high reliability – the failure of one element does not lead to a significant drop in power and distortion of the beam.

Victor Murakhovsky noted that such radar in the armored vehicles might help to complete defensive and offensive tasks.

There are two versions of its applications – as part of the fire control system or as a set of active protection. It consists of an antenna that detects the means of destruction, flying up to the tank. AESA determines coordinates and parameters of such a threat, and the tank will destroy these targets, Murakhovsky told.

In Russia, there are tanks that use radar for active protection. Location allows you to detect the missile on the approach, it provides forwarding for a certain distance, and then the tank gun destroys target. So was the system “Drozd” installed on the T-55 tank. However, these systems have not been equipped with AESA and did not have advantages of this technology.

Russia to Build a New Fleet to Dominate in the Arctic Ocean

The U.S. has the most powerful navy in the world with 283 warships, the main rival – the Russian Navy – just 208, but Moscow is quickly closing the gap, web-portal fool.com announced January 19.

Last week in an interview with RIA Novosti Russian Navy Deputy Commander Rear Admiral Victor Bursuk confirmed plans to build this year 40 new ships, the U.S. Navy’s – only 35. Plans call for the construction of new surface ship, the next class SSBN “Borey” class and diesel-electric submarines “Varshavyanka” class. Rescue ship “Igor Belousov” will expand opportunities of the Russian Navy to assist distressed submarines.

And that’s not all. Bursuk said that Russia is rapidly modernizing nuclear cruiser “Admiral Nakhimov”, class “Kirov”, and three nuclear-powered attack submarines. Russia could also build its first nuclear aircraft carrier. Why is there such a sudden surge in the Russian shipbuilding industry? Russian President Vladimir Putin last year hinted that the country will increase its influence in the North Pole. And for good reason.

Global warming has made the waters of an area of 1 million square kilometers available for shipping. Commercial companies are already starting to use the new routes. Even more important for Russia is to get to the new mineral reserves. 95% of new Russian natural gas reserves are in the Arctic, adjacent Barents and Kara Seas. Local oil and gas giants “Rosneft” and “Gazprom” interested in protecting these fields and … finding new.

Earlier this month, Russia announced an intensification of air patrols in the Arctic Ocean with the help of intelligence and antisubmarine aircraft Tu- 142 and IL-38. The country also plans to open more than a dozen Arctic airfields and ports as during the Cold War.

According to reports, many of the new Russian warships would defend the country’s interests in the Arctic. And if Russia actually builds nuclear aircraft carrier, it will, according to former Northern Fleet Commander Admiral Vladimir Vysotsky, perform tasks of nuclear submarines outpost.

Last week, the U.S. Navy announced plans to implement the program, which aims to “strengthen the position” of the American Navy in the Arctic region in the amount of $ 8.4 billion. It is discussed the possibility of building up to 10 new Arctic icebreakers worth $ 7.8 billion. If these projects will be carried out, the three largest U.S. military shipbuilding companies Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics and Huntington Ingalls receive orders worth billions of dollars. Russia also intends to build new icebreakers.

Russian Aircraft – 2013 Digest

Retiring 2013 pleased us by increased supplies to the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation of the new and modernized aircraft of tactical aviation. Production of combat, combat-training machines and special craft amounted to hundreds of units.

Aviation industry fulfilled state orders on many items. President Vladimir Putin talked about “87 new aircraft”. It is encouraging not only in terms of quantitative supply, but also of the quality of shipped aircraft.

Among the highlights of the year, attracted attention of the media, we should call flight through almost the whole country, from Komsomolsk-on-Amur to Zhukovsky, of the fourth sample of PAKFA . In October flew fifth sample of PAKFA, and next month also flew to Zhukovsky.

The most important focus of the aviation industry remains serial production of Sukhoi Su-34. Military received six such machines in 2011, ten – in 2012 and fourteen – in 2013. If the dynamics of increasing the rate of release in the near future continue, it will open path to the external market.

A pleasant surprise for the industry became customer acceptance of twelve multi-role fighters Su- 35S generation “4 ++”. We recall: in 2011-2012, ten Su- 35S were made using the means of the Defense Ministry. But they are used not by combatant pilots, but test pilots (in particular, one such machine had international debut at the Paris Air Show in June 2013).

The Ministry of Defense resumed to receive aircraft such as the Su-30M2. In addition, the country’s largest aircraft factory KNAAPO Gagarin delivered serial fighters not only to our military, but also foreign. So, six Su-30MK2 were taken by Indonesia.

Traditional export supplier of multirole fighters with thrust vector control – SPC “Irkut”. For a long time, the Ministry of Defence does not pay attention to its products. Deal has changed in 2012, when Russian troops took the first couple of Su-30SM built in Irkutsk aircraft factory. The following summer, the number increased to sixteen, and for 2014 will more than double. Many years “Irkut” supplies products for military-technical cooperation with India, sending both finished Su-30MKI and industrial kits for subsequent assembly of aircraft at the facilities of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).

Along with industrial kits on another type of fighter aircraft – MiG-29UPG, the total number of Russian kits will be about forty. Three fighting machines upgraded in Russia in addition to those that were returned to the customer in the past year. RAC “MiG” continues its supplies to India of ship MiG-29K/KUB assembled at the facilities of production complex number 1 in Lukhovitsy near Moscow. At the time of delivery to the customer in November 2013 of Project 11430 aircraft carrier, the aviation of Indian Navy possessed twenty machines. During the year, the customer had to receive six more MiG-29K/KUB of total order of 45 units.

The question of implementation of the previous work on the “classic” MiG-29 is still relevant. Besides India, the interest in the “classics” is presented in neighboring countries, where it has earned a good reputation.

Continuing supply of new and modernized fighters to own armed forces and our partners in the military-technical cooperation creates the need for quality training of frontline aviation pilots. To do this requires a modern training and combat aircraft. Such is the Yak-130 – the best choice for the Air Force, which is based on Russian technology. It may well be used in pilot training to foreign types of tactical fighter and attack aircraft.

For several years, the industry does not have the capacity to supply new Yaks abroad because of the high domestic demand. In 2011, the Russian Air Force received nine Yak-130, in 2012 – fifteen, in 2013 – eighteen. Construction of trainer aircraft at the Irkutsk Aviation Plant will continue under contracts with the Russian Defense Ministry on the total number of 55 cars.

Summing up the year in the field of tactical aviation, we can say that here our aircraft manufacturers, thanks to the growing state defense order and continuing supply for export, generally retain competency and satisfy the effective demand for new and upgraded equipment. This is undoubtedly a positive thing.