Russia signs first Israeli drone deal
REUTERS
April 10, 2009 08:24 ET
* Russia says signed deal for Israeli drones
* First Israeli drone purchase by Moscow
(Adds Israeli defence and industry sources, changes headline)
By Amie Ferris-Rotman
MOSCOW, April 10 (Reuters) - Russia said on Friday it had
signed a contract to buy drones from Israel, in the first such
deal analysts said was aimed at strengthening the armed forces
after last year's brief war with Georgia."We signed a contract with an Israeli firm for the delivery
of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV)," local news agencies quoted
Russian Deputy Defence Minister Vladimir Popovkin as saying.Russian media have reported the deal is worth about $50
million and that Russia will buy three different types of drones
from Israel's largest defence firm, state-owned Israel Aerospace
Industries (IAI).An Israeli defence source with knowledge of the deal told
Reuters the Israel Aerospace Industries sale was the first drone
sale to Russia by an Israeli firm. IAI officials declined to
comment.Russia's five-day war with neighbouring Georgia last August
exposed a Soviet-style army with obsolete equipment and a lack
of spy drones and high-precision bombs, analysts said.An industry source in Israel said Russian generals were
impressed with the drones Georgia had bought from the Jewish
state and approached the Israelis shortly after the war.Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has said that budget cuts this
year in the wake of the financial crisis will not affect planned
purchases of new weapons for the armed forces.Israel's Haaretz daily said on Friday that the deal for the
drones went ahead only after Israel received clear signals from
Russia that it had no intention of selling S-300 anti-aircraft
missile systems to Iran.Asked if the sale was connected to the S-300, the defence
source agreed there was a link, but gave no further details.
(Reporting by Amie Ferris-Rotman in Moscow, Ori Lewis and Dan
Williams in Jerusalem; Editing by Charles Dick)
You can argue all you want that this is no big deal, and hardly damages american abilities.. but there is no way you can argue this is GOOD for the USA.
3 comments:
if you shit on your allies and they no longer believe you have thier back, you can figure they are gonna look for ways to protect themselves.
When Israel sent Sheikh Yassin and his little buddy Rantisi to paradise using armed drones, the US Administration condemned the attacks as "Targeted killings" and therefore...unacceptable. A few months later, US forces had armed their drone aircraft and were "targeting" their enemies.
Now this is good news..No S300 hundreds for Iran
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