Tag: Rosoboronexport

France prepares handover of Mistral

France’s STX shipyard has placed four landing craft in the well dock of the Vladivostok helicopter carrier that is to be sent to Russia, the company said at the Euronaval 2014 exhibition on Friday.

Under the contract with Russia’s arms exporter, Rosoboronexport, all the four landing boats are in Saint-Nazaire and will be handed over to Russia together with the Mistral-class helicopter carrier, the Vladivostok.

“We have performed the contract, all the four landing craft are currently in the well dock of the Vladivostok and will go to Russia,” a representative of the French company told TASS.

The landing boats of CTM NG type have a full load displacement of 65 tons, a speed of 13.4 knots, a cruising endurance of 500 nautical miles, and are equipped with three diesel engines with the total power of 1,500 kW.

The first Mistral-class helicopter carrier Vladivostok is due to be delivered to Russia within deadlines fully under the contract, a high-ranking representative of Russia’s delegation at the Euronaval exhibition said on Thursday.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, who is in charge of Russia’s defense industry, earlier this week announced that the first Mistral helicopter carrier will be handed over to Russia by the French side on November 14.

He said that Rosoboronexport had got an invitation to arrive in Saint-Nazaire for the ceremony of handing over the first Vladivostok Mistral-type helicopter carrier. The French side, however, could not confirm his statement.

French Finance Minister Michel Sapin said on Thursday the conditions have not yet been met to deliver Mistral helicopter carriers to Russia.
The €1.12 billion contract for building Mistrals for the Russian Navy was concluded in June 2011.

The first Mistral-class ship, the Vladivostok, is expected to be delivered by late 2014. The second ship, the Sevastopol, is due to arrive next year.

Florian Phillipot, a Vice President of the rightwing National Front party said on Thursday, France should not succumb to pressures from the US in what concerns the delivery of Mistral helicopter carriers to Russia.

As he commented on a statement by Finance Minister Michel Sapin, who said earlier on the same day conditions for the delivery of Mistrals to Russia had not taken shape yet due to concerns over the situation in Ukraine, Phillipot said it’s time Paris got to its feet and stopped taking instructions from the US.

Paris has contractual obligation that must be honored, Phillipot said, adding that trust in and reputation of the country as a reliable supplier of defence equipment is at stake.

On the other hand, it is also a question of finances and Frances is running the risk of a necessity to pay a multi-billion penalty, he said.

Some 360 Russian seamen and 60 instructors are currently getting trained for a handover of the Vladivostok and for the floating of the second Mistral,” Rogozin said.

 

European arms manufacturers seek cooperation with Russia

Europe’s weapons manufacturers are interested in closely cooperating with Russia, including in the naval defense sphere, a senior Rosoboronexport official said on Monday ahead of the opening of the Euronaval 2014 international exhibition in Paris.

Deputy Director General Sergey Ladygin, who leads the delegation from Russia’s main weapons exporter Rosoboronexport, said meetings with both traditional and potential partners from Western Europe, Southeast Asia, Africa and the Middle East are due to be held.

Special focus will be made on “discussing further cooperation with the leading European manufacturers, including the projects in the interests of the third countries,” the official said.

“Many European arms producers are interested in closer cooperation with Russia, including in naval defense. In current situation, such cooperation is of course hampered by political agenda, however we remain open for our partners and are set for a mutually beneficial dialogue,” he said.

Russia considers its participation in the Euronaval 2014, the world leader of exhibitions specializing in naval defense, maritime safety and security, as a “good opportunity to ‘synchronize watches’ and elaborate further steps,” Ladygin stressed.

The participants are expected to discuss the development of production cooperation, projects on joint design of new vessels and their entry to the global market. “Certainly, we will be actively promoting a whole range of the Russian-made naval vessels and equipment,” Ladygin said.

The company expects that foreigners will be interested in the Mirazh, Sobol and Mangust class patrol boats, the Project 11356 class frigates, the Project 20382 corvettes, Murena-E assault boats as well as the Varshavyanka-class and Amur 1650 submarines.

Rosoboronexport’s stand will feature the Club missile system, artillery cannons A-190 and A-220M with a 100 and 57 mm caliber, the Palma anti-aircraft artillery missile system and Gibka anti-aircraft missile launching systems for Igla missiles.

Euronaval 2014, held since 1968, is one of the world’s largest naval defense exhibitions. This year, the event takes place from October 27-31 at the Le Bourget exhibition center.

The exhibition brings together over 350 companies from around 30 countries. More than 90 delegations from 65 countries are expected to attend the event.

Source: Russia Insider

Russia, Brazil, SA discuss possible joint military products

Russia, Brazil and South Africa are considering a possibility of joint development of military purpose products, deputy director of the Russian Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation Anatoly Punchuk said on Monday.

He is leader of the Russian delegation at Euronaval 2014 (International Naval Defence and Maritime Exhibition and Conference) ItarTASS reported.

“In terms of BRICS [Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa] a series of major projects with India is being implemented now. South Africa shows more interest in cooperation with Russia in the joint development and production of military weaponry,” Punchuk said.

Earlier, Russia’s state corporation, Rosoboronexport, director-general Anatoly Isaikin told TASS that Russia, Brazil and South Africa were planning to hold talks within BRICS before the yearend.

According to earlier reports, Russia is planning to sign a contract on the Pantsir air defense missile and artillery systems before the end of the year. Russia proposes Brazil to improve technological cooperation on supplies of the Pantsir-S1 air defence and artillery systems, Punchuk said.

After the demonstration tests for the Brazilian delegation in September “active talks are continuing”, he said.

Russian Helicopters at Africa Aerospace and Defence 2014 exhibition

The International Africa Aerospace and Defence 2014 exhibition opened Wednesday in South Africa, and Russian Helicopters is presenting a lineup of military and civilian flying machines.

Nearly 800 helicopters manufactured by Russian companies are currently in use across the African continent, Russian Helicopters (an affiliate of the arms manufacturer Oboronprom, which is part of the Rostec corporation) CEO Alexander Mikheev said in a statement released Wednesday.

“Our positions on the South African helicopter market, and in Africa as a whole, have traditionally been strong, and we view this as one of the most important regions for us. The total fleet of Russian-made helicopters on the continent exceeds 770 units,” the company’s chief said in the statement.

Mikheev added that in South Africa, the Mil Mi-8/17 “Hip” and the Kamov Ka-27 “Helix” vehicles are operated from the Denel Aviation service facility, serving specifically Mil Mi-8/17 civilian helicopters. He also expressed hope that the fleet of helicopters will continue to grow.

The company’s experts with their colleagues from Russia’s state-run arms exporter Rosoboronexport will introduce the Mil Mi-171Sh and the Mil-17-B5 military transport helicopters, the Mil-35M “Hind E” multipurpose military transport helicopter and the Ansat-U light training helicopter.

Source: RIA Novosti