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
Ivanov: U.S. Missile Defense Plans Should Be Transparent
August 28, 2006 :: RIA-Novosti :: News
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov has announced that U.S. missile defense plans for Eastern Europe should be “transparent.” He was referring to U.S. plans to possibly deploy a network of anti-missile systems in Poland and the Czech Republic, two former communist-bloc countries. “As far as the global strategic missile defense system is concerned, we approach this issue quite cautiously and believe that such systems should be deployed with maximum transparency so as not to provoke other countries into developing weapons that could penetrate this defense,” Ivanov said at a news conference after talks with U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. Ivanov and Rumsfeld met in Fairbanks on Sunday, August 27, to discuss bilateral defense cooperation and other international issues. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: Russia
China and Russia Discuss Joint Mission to Mars
August 23, 2006 :: AFP :: News
China and Russia are planning a joint mission to Mars. The Xinhua news agency quotes Ye Peijian, a scientist at the Chinese Research Institute of Space Technology, who announced yesterday that Russia plans to launch the spacecraft in 2009, which will carry Chinese-made equipment. The goal is to land on Mars and its nearest moon, and collect samples.
In June, Sun Laiyan, administrator of the China National Space Administration, said that China would focus on the moon and Mars in its deep space exploration program over the next five years. China has previously said it hopes to launch a lunar exploration satellite in 2007 as part of a program that aims to place an unmanned vehicle on the moon by 2010. In 2003, it successfully launched astronaut Yang Liwei into orbit, becoming the third country after the Soviet Union and the U.S. to put a man in space. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: China, Russia, Space-Based Systems
Russia Tests S-300
August 18, 2006 :: BBC Worldwide Monitoring :: News
The Russian military recently tested the S-300 air/missile defense system in a major exercise at the Ashuluk range in Astrakhan Region, reports Russian Channel One Europe TV. The broadcast stated that the S-300 crews “warded off air raids and missile attacks,” but did not specify the number of missiles fired, their targets, or their rate of success. The broadcast noted that Russia’s air defense shield currently “protects 140 strategic facilities and almost a third of Russia’s population,” adding that “the technical characteristics of the targets against which fire is directed are superior to the missiles actually possessed by the potential enemy.” (Article, Link)
» More stories on: Russia, Testing - Foreign
» Missile system details for: S-300P (SA-10 Grumble), S-300V (SA-12A Gladiator, SA-12B Giant)
Russia Details Future Ballistic Missile Deployments
August 18, 2006 :: Jane's Information Group :: News
Russia has revealed more details of its State Armament Program outlining ballistic missile deployments through 2015, reports the October 1 issue of Jane’s Missiles and Rockets. Speaking at a meeting of defense enterprise heads in the Volgograd region, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov stated that by 2015 the Strategic Missile Forces will receive 69 Topol-M (SS-27) intercontinental ballistic missiles and the Russian Army will receive 60 Iskander-M (SS-X-26) short-range ballistic missiles. The number of Topol-M missiles to be produced under the plan differs from the 50 cited in previous press reports, although Jane’s notes that it is uncertain whether this refers to increased production or includes missiles produced before the 2007 start of the State Armament Program. (Link)
» More stories on: Deployment, Russia
» Missile details: SS-N-6, Taep'o-dong 2
Russia Develops New Support Vehicle for S-300, Plans to Export
August 15, 2006 :: Jane's Information Group :: News
Russia has developed a new reloading and missile-transportation vehicle for its S-300 air/missile defense systems, reports the September 1 issue of Jane’s Missiles and Rockets. The NPP Start scientific production enterprise released details of the new 22T6E2 vehicle at the recent Russian Expo Arms 2006 exhibition in Nizhniy Tagil. The 22T6E2 is based on Russian wheeled vehicles rather than the Ukrainian-manufactured KrAZ-260 wheeled chassis currently in use. The new vehicle, 10.8 m long, 3.2 m wide and 3.8 m high, can simultaneously load or unload two S-300 missiles and can relocate four missiles in approximately 30 minutes.
Jane’s reports that Russia plans to export the new S-300 vehicles immediately. In 2005, the designers completed all testing of the 22T6E2 and received a certificate for mass production. According to Gennadiy Mikhaylovics Muratshin, the general director of NPP Start, the factory already has production orders from four unspecified countries. (Link)
» More stories on: Russia, Russian Missile Defenses
» Missile system details for: S-300P (SA-10 Grumble), S-300V (SA-12A Gladiator, SA-12B Giant)
Russian TV Profiles Sary-Shagan Test Range
August 13, 2006 :: BBC Worldwide Monitoring :: News
Russian Ren TV today profiled the Sary-Shagan missile test range in Kazakhstan, as part of its “military secrets” program. Located near Lake Balkhash in Kazakhstan, Sary-Shagan is the main proving ground for the Strategic Anti-Missile Troops that operate Russia’s missile defense systems. Sary-Shagan, which means “Golden Bay” in Kazakh, is located on a deserted steppe stretching for several thousand square kilometers. General Velor Maklashov, who heads the range, shared video footage of missile launches and successful intercepts, which the narrator described as “a duel, except instead of pistols or swords the opponents are armed with state-of-the-art weapons, a missile and an anti-missile.”
The program also made a point of criticizing U.S. missile defense policy, noting the “increased importance” of Sary-Shagan “after the U.S. abrogated the ABM treaty.” It added that “the Americans, who are so proud of their anti-missile defense system, were able to achieve similar results only 23 years [after us].” (Article, Link)
» More stories on: Russia, Russian Missile Defenses
Russia to Equip S-400 with New Missiles
August 11, 2006 :: RIA-Novosti :: News
The Russian Air Force plans to equip its S-400 (SA-20 Triumf) surface-to-air missile systems with new interceptor missiles by the end of 2006, reports RIA-Novosti. In his announcement, Vladimir Mikhaylov, the commander-in-chief of the Russian Air Force, did not offer any information other than that “the missile is at the moment undergoing tests.” The S-400 is believed to have a range of up to 400 kilometers, giving it approximately 2.5 times the range of the S-300P and twice the range of the U.S. Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) system. Once operational, the S-400 will be able to target and destroy aircraft, cruise missiles, and short- and medium-range ballistic missiles. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: Russia, Russian Missile Defenses
» Missile system details for: S-400 (SA-20 Triumf)
Belarusian Missile Crews Test S-300 in Southern Russia
August 10, 2006 :: BBC Worldwide Monitoring :: News
This morning, Belarusian missile crews took part in a military exercise at the Ashuluk range in southern Russia that included tests of the S-300 air/missile defense system, reports the Belarusian news agency Belapan. During the operational and tactical exercise, crews from the 115th Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade used S-300 systems to engage 15 target simulators imitating an attack by cruise missiles, short-range ballistic missiles, and supersonic aircraft. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: Former Soviet Republics, Russia, Russian Missile Defenses, Testing - Foreign
» Missile system details for: S-300P (SA-10 Grumble), S-300V (SA-12A Gladiator, SA-12B Giant)
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
