India to Fit BrahMos Cruise Missile to Su-30MK1 Fighters
September 5, 2006 :: Jane's Information Group :: News
India is preparing to configure the BrahMos PJ-10 cruise missile to be deployed on Su-30MK1 fighter aircraft, reports the September 6 issue of Jane’s Defence Weekly. Static and dynamic tests on the ground for this air-launched version are reportedly underway. The BrahMos, which derives its name from the Brahmaputra and Moscow rivers in India and Russia, is based on the earlier Russian design for the SS-N-26 (3M55 Oniks) cruise missile. In 1998, a joint venture was set up between the Indian Defense Ministry’s Defense Research and Development Organization and Russia’s Mashinostroyeniye Company. The two entities formed a company now known as BrahMos Aerospace, which would develop and manufacture the BrahMos.
In 2006, reports indicated that Russia and India plan to manufacture 1,000 BrahMos missiles over the next 10 years through their joint venture company. Of these 1,000 missiles, nearly 50 percent will be exported to client states. Jane’s adds that the Indian Army will introduce a ground-based version of the missile in 2007, and that a submarine-launched variant is also under development. (Link)
» More stories on: Cruise Missiles, India, Proliferation, Russia
U.S. Traces North Korean Money to Russia
August 30, 2006 :: Kommersant :: News
Kommersant reports that the U.S. may soon accuse Russia of benefiting financially from North Korea’s missile proliferation. Russian firms may be helping North Korea to develop missile technology, which Pyongyang then sells to nations such as Iran, Syria, and Pakistan. Once the sales are completed, the North Koreans deposit their proceeds in Russian banks. The article hints that Pyongyang may be running out of foreign accounts to store its proliferation proceeds due to U.S. pressure on Vietnam and China to freeze North Korean assets, and therefore has turned to the former Soviet Union. Peter Beck, head of the International Crisis Group, told Kommersant yesterday that Russia is “the last financial refuge for the People’s Democratic Republic of Korea.” Japanese media sources reported last week that North Korea had opened new bank accounts in ten different countries, including Russia, which lends credibility to Beck’s argument.
Kommersant speculates that North Korea may be using the accounts of its embassy in Moscow to transfer funds. If this is true, it means that Pyongyang could be stashing its proliferation proceeds in Vneshtorgbank, which services the diplomatic missions in Moscow. Another possible recipient of North Korean assets is Vneshekonombank, which reached an interstate agreement with North Korea in the mid-1980s and opened “accounts on objects of technical cooperation and military-technical cooperation” with Pyongyang in 1992. Kommersant reports that Vneshekonombank still has several accounts with the Foreign Trade Bank of North Korea. Beck adds that U.S. officials see “a high degree of likelihood” in Russian financial dealing with North Korea, which could further sour relations between the two nations vis-à-vis Iran, a primary benefactor of North Korean missile proliferation. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: Iran, North Korea, Proliferation, Russia
China: Hezbollah Missile Link “Impossible”
August 23, 2006 :: AFP :: News
Chinese regulations make it “impossible” for a missile China sold to Iran to be passed on to Lebanon’s Hezbollah forces, a senior Chinese diplomat claimed yesterday. Sun Bigan, China’s special envoy to the Middle East, told reporters that China has never exported arms to Hezbollah, including the radar guided C-802 (CSS-N-8) anti-ship cruise missile that Hezbollah fired at an Israeli warship on July 14. “I think the information or the news is not accurate about the use of Chinese weapons in the Lebanon-Israel battlefield,” Sun said. “I have taken note of these reports. The information itself is groundless.” Sun, however, did not rule out the possibility that these weapons may have been transferred to Hezbollah by a third party. “China does have some normal arms trade with some countries, however, the arms trade is with sovereign states. China does not provide weapons to any organizations, groups, or [political] parties.” He added that if Chinese weapons had in fact been transferred to another entity, China would be “very concerned,” but as far as he knew Beijing had not launched an investigation into the matter. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: China, Iran, Proliferation, Terrorism
Russian Arms Exporter Calls Sanctions for Proliferation “Unfriendly”
August 9, 2006 :: AFP :: News
The Russian state arms exporter Rosoboronexport said on Monday, August 7, that U.S. sanctions against it were an “unfriendly act” aimed at undermining Russia’s defense industry, reports the AFP. On August 4, Washington announced that it had placed sanctions on Rosoboronexport and jetmaker Sukhoi for providing Iran with equipment that could be used to develop missile systems or weapons of mass destruction. Rosoboronexport replied in an official statement that “the introduction of sanctions should be seen as nothing other than an unfriendly act against the Russian state and an attempt at destabilizing its defense cooperation with foreign countries.” It continued: “Our cooperation with Iran … is carried out strictly in accordance with international agreements and is limited exclusively to supplies of defensive armament … Such deliveries of arms and military technology to Iran are made by many foreign companies, including by partner countries of the United States in NATO.” The sanctions could “have a negative effect on US-Russian partnership in countering illegal shipments of counterfeit Russian arms, particularly to Iraq and Afghanistan,” it added. In addition to the official statement, Rosoboronexport’s director Sergei Chemezov was quoted by Interfax as saying, “It’s a purely political move, an example of unfair competition.” Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov also weighed in: “These sanctions don’t have the slightest relation to non-proliferation,” he said, according to Interfax. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: Iran, Proliferation, Russia
Jane’s on Russian Defense Industry Capabilities
August 8, 2006 :: Jane's Information Group :: News
Russia’s defense industry could have a hard time meeting its export commitments, reports the September 1 issue of Jane’s Defence Industry. Defense agreements with Venezuela alone could reach $3 billion, a sum equivalent to almost 50 percent of Moscow’s total military exports in 2005. Venezuela is also considering additional purchases, including Tor M-1 and Osa-10 air-defense missile systems. Yet Russia already has significant commitments to other key customers, including China and India, which accounted for 70 percent of its defense exports in 2005. In addition, Moscow recently reached a defense accord with Algeria valued at $7.5 billion, in which it agreed to supply Algeria with eight battalions of S-300 PMU2 surface-to-air missile systems among other things. Further agreements with Algeria worth between $2 billion and $3 billion are expected. Jane’s questions whether Moscow will be able to keep these ambitious commitments, as its defense industry remains tied to “old-fashioned management practices and organizational structures at odds with free-market principles,” and has thus fallen into “poor health.” (Link)
» More stories on: Industry, Proliferation, Russia
» Missile system details for: S-300P (SA-10 Grumble)
U.S. Sanctions Russian Companies for Selling Missile Technology to Iran
August 7, 2006 :: Financial Times :: News
The U.S. State Department has imposed sanctions on two Russian companies for selling missile technology to Iran. The state-controlled weapons exporter Rosoboronexport and the aircraft manufacturer Sukhoi had been exporting material that could contribute to the development of weapons of mass destruction by Iran or a cruise or ballistic missile system, said the State Department.
The two companies will be barred from engaging in business with the U.S. government and will be denied new export licenses for two years. Earlier this year, the Pentagon raised the problem of the Kremlin’s arms sales to countries that “compromise the political and economic independence and territorial integrity of other states.” Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld had also said he was concerned that Russia was supplying arms to Iran and Syria.
The sanctions angered the Russian government, which responded that the move was an “illegitimate attempt to make foreign companies work by internal American rules” and that the U.S. was punishing its own companies by making it impossible for them to co-operate with leading Russian corporations. “These sanctions, which the U.S. unilaterally imposes on other countries and their organizations, are an obvious political and legal anachronism,” the Russian Defense Ministry said. The Financial Times notes that the head of Rosoboronexport, Sergei Chemezov, served as a KGB officer with Russian president Vladimir Putin in East Germany in the 1980s and has boasted that their relationship helped his company “get a lot of issues resolved fast.” (Article, Link)
» More stories on: Iran, Proliferation, Russia
Iran to Supply Hezbollah with Russian-Made Surface-to-Air Missiles
August 7, 2006 :: Jane's Information Group :: News
Iran will supply Hezbollah with a number of Russian-made surface-to-air missile (SAM) systems over the coming months, reports the August 9 issue of Jane’s Defence Weekly. The article quotes Western diplomatic sources who claim that Hezbollah has pressured Iran for “an array of more advanced weaponry, including more advanced SAM systems” in preparation “for the next stage in the confrontation.” In late July, Hezbollah representatives allegedly met with senior representatives of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), at which time Iran agreed “at later date, to supply advanced Russian-made SAM systems to Hezbollah” as part of its strategy to “transform Hezbollah, after the current conflict, into a coherent fighting force and a regional strategic arm.” According to Jane’s, Tehran will supply Hezbollah with Russian-produced SAMs, including the Strela-2/2M (SA-7 “Grail”), Strela-3 (SA-14 “Gremlin”) and Igla-1E (SA-16 “Gimlet”) man-portable systems. Iran will also deliver its Mithaq-1 and Mithaq-2 man-portable low-altitude SAM systems, both of which are Iranian copies of the Chinese QW-1 man-portable low-altitude SAM system. (Link)
» More stories on: Iran, Proliferation, Russia, Terrorism
Iran Builds Homegrown Missile Industry
August 5, 2006 :: Bloomberg :: News
Iran is building up its own missile industry using Chinese and Russian technology, reports Bloomberg. The Islamic Republic began developing its manufacturing capabilities in the 1980s during the Iran-Iraq War. With the threat from Saddam Hussein’s Iraq now gone, Tehran has “every intention of becoming a major regional power,” according to William Cohen, secretary of defense under President Bill Clinton, and intends to become self-sufficient in the production of weaponry, in particular ballistic missiles. Iran therefore no longer simply relies on imports from China, Russia, and North Korea, and has become adept at copying or even improving on those countries’ technologies. “The Iranians are at a stage now where they can build most of these weapons themselves locally,” said Guy Ben-Ari, a fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. Among Iran’s homemade missiles that it has exported to Hezbollah and perhaps other Islamic terrorist organizations are the Zelzal-2 short-range ballistic missile, which carries a 600-kilogram warhead; the Fajr-3 and Fajr-5 short-range ballistic missiles, which carry 90- and 175-kilogram warheads respectively; and the Noor (Tondar) radar-guided anti-ship cruise missile, an Iranian copy of the Chinese C-802 (CSS-N-8). (Article, Link)
» More stories on: Industry, Iran, Proliferation
» Missile details: Zelzal-1/2/3
Iran Admits Supplying Zelzal-2 Missiles to Hezbollah
August 5, 2006 :: Jerusalem Post :: News
Iran has admitted supplying Zelzal-2 short-range ballistic missiles to the Hezbollah terrorist organization, reports The Jerusalem Post. Mohtashami Pur, Secretary-General of the Iranian “Intifada Conference” told an Iranian newspaper yesterday that Iran transferred the missiles so that they could be used to defend Lebanon.
The Zelzal-2 (“earthquake” in Farsi) is believed to have a range of anywhere from 120 to 400 kilometers, and would be capable of striking Tel Aviv if launched successfully. The Israeli Defense Force estimates that it has destroyed almost two-thirds of Hezbollah’s Zelzal-2 arsenal, according to The Jerusalem Post. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: Iran, Israel, Proliferation, Terrorism
» Missile details: Zelzal-1/2/3
Report: North Korea and Iran Collaborating on Missiles, Using Chinese Technology
August 4, 2006 :: Reuters :: News
North Korea has been working closely with Iran to develop its long-range ballistic missiles, using Chinese technology, according to a recent report by a state-run South Korean think tank. The report was produced by the Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security, and authored by Yun Deok-min. The collaboration is part of an international network, including Pakistan, that has made it possible for the impoverished North Korea to develop and deploy missiles despite scarce resources and limited testing. Pyongyang is believed to have built two underground missile bases in a mountainside in the central part of its land border with China. The bases “are located in positions that make them impossible to be attacked unless strikes come across the Chinese border, as they are positioned near the Sino-North Korea border and are in the mountainside,” the report said. The report also asserted that North Korea has been constructing new underground missile bases and silos along its east coast to deploy intermediate-range missiles aimed at Japan and U.S. military facilities.
During a Senate hearing last week, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton noted that, “There is, no doubt, a very extensive Chinese cooperation with the Iranian ballistic missile program.” (Article, Link)
» More stories on: China, Iran, North Korea, Proliferation
» Missile details: Tien Ma 1
