The main news regarding the export of Russian weapons in April 2017 related to aviation and helicopter technology. The Russian Mi-35M helicopter is especially popular on the international arms market. This combat helicopter is very well exported, in many respects this is the direct merit of its predecessor, the Mi-24, which is the first most widespread attack helicopter in the world (more than 3.5 thousand copies were produced).
It is worth noting that most of the Russian arms exports through Rosoboronexport account for the supply of combat aircraft and helicopters. According to Rostec, the most demanded type of Russian-made weapons on the world arms market is aircraft, which accounts for 40% of all Russian exports. The remaining share in approximately equal proportions is divided among themselves by air defense systems, naval equipment and equipment of the ground forces.
Export prospects of the Mi-35M
During the ceremony to celebrate the 53rd anniversary of the formation of the Nigerian Air Force, which took place on April 22 in the city of Makurdi, two new Mi-35M attack helicopters were included in the combat composition of the country's air force. According to the resource Naij.com, the supply of new combat helicopters, characterized by the ability to perform tasks at night, will expand the capabilities of the Nigerian armed forces in conducting operations against terrorists, insurgents and other illegal armed groups.
Compared to previous versions of the helicopter, the Mi-35M is distinguished by greater autonomy, improved performance, the presence of modern aiming systems and a "glass" cockpit, and the designers have also minimized the risk of collateral damage. President of Nigeria Muhammad Bukhari and Minister of Defense of the country Mansur Mohammad Dan-Ali were present at the ceremony for the commissioning of the first pair of Russian-made Mi-35M helicopters into the Air Force. In his speech, the President of Nigeria noted the successes of the local armed forces in operations against the terrorist group Boko Haram, which became possible thanks to the purchase of new types of weapons, as well as improved training of troops.
According to TsAMTO (Center for Analysis of World Arms Trade), for the first time it became known about the signing of a contract for the supply of Mi-35M combat helicopters to Nigeria back in September 2014. At the ADEX-2014 exhibition, the head of the joint delegation of the Rostec state corporation, Sergei Goreslavsky, noted then that in August 2014 the Russian Federation had signed a major contract with Nigeria for the supply of a "significant number" of Mi-171Sh helicopters and several Mi-35M helicopters. In the annual report of Rostvertol OJSC for 2014, it was said about the conclusion of a contract for the supply of 6 Mi-35M combat helicopters to Nigeria. In the budget of Nigeria for 2016, there is information about the allocation of approximately another 58 million dollars for the purchase of two Mi-35M helicopters. The delivery of the first batch of these helicopters to Nigeria became known in January 2016, and it is planned to complete deliveries to Nigeria by the end of 2018.
According to the bmpd blog with reference to the Bangladeshi website bdmilitary.com, the ground forces of Bangladesh have decided to buy Russian-made Mi-35M combat helicopters. The purchase is planned to be carried out in accordance with the long-term plan for the development of the country's armed forces Forces Goal 2030. It is planned to purchase 6 Mi-35M helicopters from Russia (and then, most likely, six more) to equip the recently formed group of army aviation of the Bangladesh land forces, which has already received 6 Russian Mi-171Sh transport and combat helicopters.
It is reported that the Bangladeshi army considered the possibility of purchasing various combat helicopters, including the Turkish TAI T129, the American Bell AH-1Z and the Chinese Z-10, but in the end the choice was based on a set of criteria, including the presence of real combat experience, purchase cost, combat characteristics and availability spare parts was made in favor of the Russian Mi-35M attack helicopter. The repair of this type of helicopter is planned in the future at the Bangabadhu Aeronautical Center (BAC), which already has a certificate for servicing Russian transport and combat helicopters of the Mi-17 family.
In April 2017, a photograph of the first Mi-35M combat helicopter intended for the Malian armed forces was published on the Russianplanes.net Internet resource. The Mi-35M was photographed in March 2017 during flight tests at Rosvertol JSC in Rostov-on-Don. Although all the side markings and inscriptions on the helicopter were sealed, the lower Mali Air Force mark on the helicopter's belly was not hidden in any way.
The first Mi-35M helicopter built at Rostvertol for the Mali Air Force. Rostov-on-Don, March 2017 (c) Mikhail Mizikaev / russianplanes.net
According to the bmpd blog, the Russian side has not yet officially announced the conclusion of a contract for the supply of Mi-35M combat helicopters to Mali. But in September 2016, Yuri Demchenko, one of the leaders of Rosoboronexport, said that in 2016-2017 Russia would continue to supply helicopters of the Mi-8/17 and Mi-24/35 families to Angola, Nigeria, Mali and Sudan. Earlier, Mali has already bought from Bulgaria 7 old Mi-24D helicopters from stock. They were delivered to the country in 2007-2012.
Russia and the UAE continue negotiations on the supply of Su-35 fighters
Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Armed Forces, held bilateral talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on April 20, 2017. According to the Emirati National newspaper, during the talks, the parties discussed measures aimed at ending armed conflicts in the region, and also touched upon the issues of expanding cooperation in the field of economy and security.
The Arab edition also recalled that in February 2017, at the international exhibition and conference IDEX 2017, Moscow and Abu Dhabi made a statement on the joint development of a new generation fighter in the UAE, and on April 20, 2017, against the background of negotiations between the UAE and Russia at the highest level, Russian Trade Minister Denis Manturov said that both countries are also continuing negotiations on the supply of "several dozen" multipurpose Su-35 fighters to arm the UAE Air Force.
Earlier, the TASS agency wrote that at the IDEX 2017, the largest arms exhibition in the Middle East, representatives of Russia and the United Arab Emirates signed an agreement of intent to purchase Su-35 fighters. Sergei Chemezov, head of the Rostec state corporation, spoke about the signing by the parties of a memorandum on the purchase of multipurpose fighters. At the same time, negotiations between Russia and the UAE regarding the supply of the Su-35 fighter have been underway since 2015. It was then that Russia signed a contract with China for the supply of 24 such aircraft. The value of the contract concluded with China was at least two billion dollars. At the same time, other countries, in particular Indonesia and Brazil, are showing interest in Russian Su-35 fighters.
Turkey shows interest in Russian S-400 Triumph air defense system
Moscow and Ankara have reached an agreement in principle on the supply of Russian S-400 Triumph anti-aircraft missile systems, and negotiations are currently underway on the price. This was reported by RIA Novosti with reference to Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu. Earlier, the press secretary of the Russian president, Dmitry Peskov, said that Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan at a meeting to be held in Sochi on May 3, could discuss the supply of Russian S-400 air defense systems to Turkey.
“We have agreed in principle with the Russian Federation on the acquisition of the S-400 air defense system. Negotiations on co-production and cost are currently underway. We wanted to buy NATO missile defense systems, but, unfortunately, they did not fit into our position,”Mevlut Cavusoglu told the Haberturk newspaper. As RIA Novosti reminds, earlier representatives of the Turkish and Russian authorities have repeatedly said that negotiations are underway between Moscow and Ankara on the supply of the S-400 Triumph. According to the head of "Rostec" Sergei Chemezov, Ankara is ready to purchase Russian air defense systems in the event of a loan from Moscow, negotiations about it are currently underway with the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation.
According to Vladimir Kozhin, the Russian president's assistant for military-technical cooperation, Moscow sees no obstacles to the possible supply of S-400 Triumph anti-aircraft missile systems to Turkey in connection with the country's membership in NATO, RIA Novosti reported. In early May, information appeared that Russia was ready to supply Turkey with S-400 complexes at a price of $ 500 million per division. This was reported by RBC journalists with reference to two of their own sources. According to Russian journalists, negotiations between the parties are already close to the final stage. At the same time, a number of Russian military experts still doubt that Turkey is really determined to acquire Russian air defense systems, and does not demonstrate NATO's own independence.
Azerbaijan receives another batch of BTR-82A armored personnel carriers
In accordance with the agreement on military-technical cooperation between Azerbaijan and Russia, another batch of Russian armored personnel carriers BTR-82A, as well as related equipment, was delivered to Azerbaijan, the TsAMTO website reports. According to Azeri Difenz, which refers to a video presented by the press service of the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry, the new military equipment arrived in the country by sea. Full readiness for combat use of the transferred armored personnel carriers will be achieved in the near future.
Judging by the videos published on Youtube, the armored personnel carriers arrived in Azerbaijan on board the "Composer Rachmaninov" ferry. In total, at least 9 BTR-82A armored personnel carriers were unloaded from the ship. According to the TsAMTO database (the data that Russia transmitted to the UN Register were used), deliveries of BTR-82A and BMP-3 to Azerbaijan began in 2013 (10 units in 2013, 78 units in 2014, 30 units in 2015). At the same time, no official data on the details of the contract have been announced by either the Russian Federation or Azerbaijan in the media so far. Thus, the relatively complete picture of the number of BMP-3 infantry fighting vehicles and BTR-82A armored personnel carriers transferred to Azerbaijan will most likely become known only after the contract for their supply is completed.
Rosoboronexport expects to strengthen its positions in Latin America with FAMEX-2017
For the first time in history, Rosoboronexport organized a Russian exposition at the FAMEX-2017 International Aerospace Show, which was held in Mexico in the city of Santa Lucia from April 26 to 29, the official website of Rostec reports. According to the organizers of the exhibition, invitations to visit this aerospace show were delivered to 33 representatives of the Air Forces of Latin America and other regions of the world. Rosoboronexport hoped that the invited delegations would show interest in Russian military equipment and weapons. In addition, representatives of Rosoboronexport were ready to discuss with representatives of the armed forces of the states of the region issues of technological partnership, as well as joint development of weapons and military equipment and research in the military sphere.
It should be noted that Rosoboronexport is trying to pursue a consistent policy to strengthen its own positions in the states of Latin America. “The share of the countries of this region in the total volume of export deliveries of Russian arms from 2001 to the present is more than 9%. Most of the volume of military supplies to the countries of Latin America is occupied by aviation and helicopter equipment, which was the focus of the FAMEX-2017 salon,”Alexander Denisov, head of the marketing department at Rosoboronexport, told reporters. At the exhibition held in Mexico, the Russian exposition included more than 160 items of weapons and military equipment of domestic production.
Experts call the Yak-130 combat trainer, the MiG-29M multifunctional front-line fighter, and the Su-30MK super-maneuverable multifunctional fighter aircraft the most promising in this region of the world from the samples of aviation equipment presented at the exhibition. Among domestic helicopters, foreign consumers may be interested in the Ka-52 and Mi-28NE combat helicopters, the Mi-35M multipurpose attack helicopter, the Mi-17V-5, Mi-171Sh military transport helicopter, as well as the Mi-26T2 heavy transport helicopter and the light multipurpose helicopter " Ansat ". Traditionally, Latin American countries pay much attention to Russian air defense systems, for example, the modern Pantsir-S1 anti-aircraft missile and cannon system, which was also presented as part of the Russian exposition.
