Russia to take advantage of Western sanctions in defense

Russian military officials believe that the sanctions imposed by Western countries against Russia will not cut the volume of Russian arms trade on the international market. As expected, within three years (up to 2016 inclusive), annual sales of arms and military equipment of Russian defense export company Rosoboronexport will make up about $13 billion, company CEO Anatoly Isaykin told ITAR-TASS. According the official, in 2014, "everything goes according to schedule, all tasks will be fulfilled."

Russian President Vladimir Putin said earlier that the volume of deliveries of Russian weapons abroad during the first six months of this year amounted to $5.6 billion. Estimating the figures, Putin said that those were "very impressive and solid" numbers. At the same time, in 2012-2013, Russia reportedly sold weapons worth about $15.7 billion.

The head of Rosoboronexport said that the company could not concentrate properly on exports due to extensive work on the state defense order, which explains the decrease in profit (by nearly two billion) in 2014. According to him, Rosoboronexport is currently busy reequipping the national army. However, Isaykin assured, after the priority task is executed, deliveries of Russian military products abroad will grow. "The demand on Russian weapons on the international market now exceeds production capacity," he said.

Noteworthy, several countries have recently suspended military cooperation with Russia, following Moscow's decision to reunite with the Crimea. The West imposed sanctions against Russia because of the ongoing crisis in Ukraine and the crash of the Malaysian Boeing. The reasons of the crash remain unknown, although the West persistently accuses Russia of the terrible tragedy. In particular, Ukraine suspended cooperation with Russia in the sphere of military-industrial complex in mid -June.

In March, the UK withdrew several licenses for the supply of military products to the Russian Federation, such as cloth and various small parts for helmets. The shipments were evaluated at 37 million pounds.

Berlin decided to suspend military cooperation with Russia entirely in March and April of this year. In addition, Germany insisted on the suspension of the construction of a military training center near Nizhny Novgorod; the contract amounted to 100 million euros).

France decided not to cut defense cooperation with Russia. Western allies have sought to convince Paris not to supply Mistral helicopter carriers to Russia. However, given the terms of the contract, such a decision would be too costly for the French. The United States imposed sanctions on the Russian United Shipbuilding Corporation, which is involved in the transaction for the supply of helicopter carriers.

It was also reported that the Iraqi military decided to terminate the contract with Russia for the supply of 48 anti-aircraft missile systems Panzer-S1 and 36 combat helicopters Mi-28NE totaling $4 billion. However, the head of the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation, Alexander Fomin, denied the rumors.

After the introduction of economic sanctions against Russia, Moscow announced an intention to enter new markets, in particular - East Africa and Latin America. It was said that new partners were interested in rotorcraft, S-400 Triumf, as well as aircraft, small arms, and over-the-horizon radar systems Sunflower-E.

Noteworthy, problems may arise for Rosoboronexport due to the inability to import goods, as many parts for Russian-made hardware are purchased abroad. In particular, TV3-117 engines for military helicopters are produced in Ukraine, and Russia has a contract to sell helicopters to India.

Meanwhile, engines are needed not only for "export" helicopters, but also for the equipment of the Russian army. Earlier, it was reported that by 2020, the Russian Air Force was supposed to receive.

The role of Ukrainian-made components is high in the Russian space industry too. According to experts, to eliminate dependence on Ukrainian parts, the Russian space industry will need from one to two years. The localization of production in Russia by 2018 will require about 33 billion rubles.

Russia used to buy up to 3,000 types kinds of products from Ukraine. After Kiev banned all military-technical cooperation with Russia, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said that Russia had a plan to substitute imports of Ukraine's military products. Representatives of the Russian Defense Ministry said that they were planning to eliminate the dependence on the supplies of Ukrainian components during 2.5 years.

On Tuesday, August 12, at a meeting on the issues of engine engineering for the military-industrial complex of Russia, Rogozin told of the plans to relocate the production of gas turbine engines for the Russian Navy to Russia. According to Deputy Prime Minister, this problem should be solved "as soon as possible." He added that the works on import substitution in the field of engine engineering for the defense industry "should be completed within two or three years maximum," RIA Novosti reports.

At the end of July, Russian President Vladimir Putin urged to find ways to switch to domestic materials and components in the production of special equipment and weapons. Russia must take advantage of difficulties with the development of domestic components, Putin said. According to him, "Russia should expand its own production, where there was no production before." Putin stressed out that employees of the Russian defense complex are capable of doing absolutely everything themselves.

Pravda.Ru