broken defense business between Russia and China??

According to an article in local newspaper the defense business between Russia and China, which was worth $2 million a year, is broken. There are two stories why:

1. Russian generals are concerned that China is reaching the same military power Russia already has and don't want to sell their equipment anymore.

2. Chinese generals are unsatisfied that russia is selling the same equipment to China and India.

So what does ATS think about it??

[edit on 1/2/08 by sovietman]

reply to post by sovietman


I researched this and learned something new...............

alanpetersworld.blogspot.com...

[edited]
How did it get to this?

In November, 2007, after changing its mind several times over the last few years, Russia finally agreed to allow the use of Russian made-engines in Chinese made JF-17 (also known as FC-1) jet fighters that are exported (to Pakistan, Algeria, Egypt, Nigeria, Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia.) Lebanon, Burma, Iran and Sri Lanka have also shown interest in this low-cost fighter that is similar to early model F-16s.)

Earlier in 2007, Russia announced that none of the 500 Russian RD-93 jet engines China is buying could be exported to a foreign country. This was a problem, as China needs those engines for the 150 JF17 fighters it is building for Pakistan. What makes this particularly nasty is that Pakistan has invested $150 million in the development of the JF17.

Pakistan thought Russia would give China permission to export the RD93 equipped aircraft. After all, China was such a large customer for RD93 engines (originally designed for the MiG-29), and those 500 RD93 engines are worth $1.25 billion.
But apparently India played hardball, and demanded that the Russians forbid the export of the RD93s from China to Pakistan.

India is a major customer for Russian weapons, including cooperative development deals. China is a big customer for Russian weapons as well, but India buys more stuff, and is seen as less of a future threat to Russia than China. Pressure from many other nations interested in the JF-17 apparently caused the Russians to finally relent.

But it gets more interesting. China has been developing a similar (apparently identical) engine to the RD93, the WS-13. Actually, this effort is being aided by Russia, which is selling China technology needed for the manufacture of key engine components. Russia isn't happy about this, because they don't want competition in the low-cost jet engine market. Then again, China has a history of stealing technology it cannot buy, so the Russians are making the best of a bad situation.

Does this mean that we have to worry about India as well? It seems quite murky and there must be something else beneath all of this.

I found this:

www.livemint.com...

Jim Wolf (Reuters)

Washington: The United States is gearing up to battle Russia and Europe for sales of billions of dollars in jet fighters, cargo aircraft and other arms to India.

US officials regard sales to India, with a potential $40 billion arms market including missile-defence systems, as a way to cement strategic ties and boost bilateral military cooperation as a hedge against China’s growing clout.
“By reaching out to India, we have made the bet that the planet’s future lies in pluralism, democracy and market economics,” said Nicholas Burns, the State Department’s No. 3 official, ”rather than in intolerance, despotism and state planning,” an apparent reference to communist-ruled China.

“A significant Indian defence purchase from the United States ... would be a great leap forward and signal a real commitment to long-term military partnership,” he added in the November/December issue of the journal Foreign Affairs.

Burns, undersecretary of state for political affairs, cited as an example the 126 new multirole fighter aircraft sought by the Indian Air Force, a potential $10.2 billion deal coveted by Washington as a key to stepped-up military ties.

Six fighter suppliers from Europe, Russia and the United States are to submit detailed bids by 3 March. The US competitors, Lockheed Martin Corp and Boeing Co, are striving to unseat suppliers from Russia, India’s chief arms source during decades of Cold War US-Indian distrust.

Russia is offering its MiG-35 to replace the earlier-model MiGs the Indians now fly. Also in the race are France’s Dassault Rafale, Sweden’s Saab AB JAS-39 Gripen and the Eurofighter Typhoon, made by a consortium of British, German, Italian and Spanish companies.

Last week, Chicago-based Boeing agreed in principle to send as much as $1 billion in aerospace manufacturing work to India’s state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, or HAL, over the next 10 years.

Under a pact signed Thursday in New Delhi, the mostly weapons-related work would start at $10 million to $20 million annually, ”increasing in size and complexity as business opportunities develop,” a Boeing statement said.

thanks sir_stinky_pinky for detailed information

What I found out is, that European contractors can't sell any plane to China because of embargo on military equipment (because of Tiananmen Square massacre). France has a lot of equipment to sale and because of that they want to open the market, but the problem is that the whole EU must agree. Some claim that when France will be the president, the market will open.

I just read a press release that Laura Wang was arrested for selling military aircraft parts from the USA thru her Singapore business ... she was arrested at LAX if I read the article correctly. Her family business name was none other than Monarch ... yeah they nailed her.
www.msnbc.msn.com...

[edit on 5-2-2008 by Skydancer]