It seems now that it has become common for Russia To Spend More on Purchasing Arms Abroad.
The Ministry of Defense is looking at the armory and equipment produced by foreign manufacturers. After the war in August 2008, there were many discussions about purchasing Israeli unmanned aircraft systems. The systems were purchased without much buzz. Shooting equipment for some of the Special Forces departments is purchased abroad. Recently it was reported that a Mistral-class helicopter carriers may be purchased in France.
I’m especially interested in the notion of Russia buying arms from Israel. Just consider what it would mean if Israel became a major supplier for Russia. Israel is known for making cutting edge weapons systems, both in small arms and more high-tech items. It would be very interesting if Russia became dependent on Israel for some items it found essential for its own military. That would be bound to affect the Russian participation in Middle East matters…. and Russia’s recent slightly harder stand towards Iranian nukes may be evidence of that.
It bears watching.
