Russia forces USA out from its traditional arms markets

[lovuian]

http://english.pravda.ru/russia/economics/16-05-2008/105239-russia_arms-0

Russia forces the USA out from the traditional arms market. Russia has won a 4-billion-dollar contract with Saudi Arabia in a competition with the USA and France. This achievement of the Russian defense complex can be explained by both the high quality of the national military hardware defense equipment and the blunders of its Western competitors. However, Russia should not rest on its laurels: the current state of the nation’s defense industry is not good enough. It is not ruled out that the contract with Saudi Arabia may repeat the unfortunate fate of MiG supplies to Algeria.






Russia has entered the market area which has traditionally been under the USA’s control. In this case it goes about Saudi Arabia. Rumors of Russia’s intention to sign a multi-billion-dollar contract with the country appeared in November of 2007 when then-President Vladimir Putin met with the Saudi Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud. On the eve of the meeting Putin toured Arab states, and visited Arab capital Riyadh where none of Russian and Soviet leaders had been before.

The West considered it a newspaper hoax, because Saudi Arabia was totally dependant on arms supplies from the West – presumably from the USA. More importantly, the country has not voiced a desire to change the supplier. However, Russia and Saudi Arabia preferred not to reveal details of their talks on the contract, which continued for about six months.

Now it is known that the contract is evaluated at four billion dollars. The Saudi king got interested in the wide range of Russia’s defense equipment: from aircraft and armored vehicles and missile complexes. It became known that a half of the contract accounts for 100 Mil helicopters (mainly, Mi-17 and Mi-35). Half a billion dollars accounts for 150 T-90C tanks. The contract also includes 20 middle-haul air defense systems Buk-M2E and several hundreds of BMP-3 infantry combat vehicles.

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Another reason Bush looked sheepish with the Saudis

[gateley]

1. So. Bush was just over there begging for a break on oil prices but the

Saudis said no. (We, however, agreed to help them in their plans for nuclear power.)

Now, the Saudis are buying arms from the Russians.

I'm getting the feeling that "our friends" the Saudis, kind of look at us as a joke these days.

Good Job, W.

[vickitulsa]

2. And they're not the only ones!

"I'm getting the feeling that "our friends" the Saudis, kind of look at us as a joke these days."


If it weren't so tragic, it would be a "good joke," too....

[gateley]

3. No they're not the only ones - the world views us with....

don't know the right word. Contempt? Pity? Schadenfreude?

Or do they even care enough to view us at all? We're impotent.

[ConsAreLiars]

4. US = crazed, stupid, fearful, blindly murderous, ineffective but brutal monsters.

Mindlessly wandering the planet, slaughtering innocents, rotting from within. Nothing to be admired.