*Sources: DTN News / Int'l Media
(NSI News Source Info) ST. PETERSBURG, Russia - June 28, 2009: Russia's st
ate arms exporter Rosoboronexport and France's Thales Group agreed on Friday to market jointly-developed naval equipment internationally.
"Today, Rosoboronexport and the Thales company signed at the International Naval Show in St. Petersburg a memorandum on cooperation in the sphere of naval equipment," said Mikhail Bychkov, a Rosoboronexport official.
With operations in 50 countries and 68,000 employees, Thales is a world leader in information systems for the aerospace, defense and security markets.
Bychkov said the deal would create opportunities for combining the export potential of both companies to promote future projects, including Russian-built Project 20382 Tiger class corvettes equipped with electronics manufactured by Thales.
Project-20382 “Tiger” corvette is a ship for acting in the near sea zone against ships and submarines, for supporting landing troops, and against air targets. The corvette is equipped with Uran anti-ship missiles. Kashtan antiaircraft missile system, and Ka-27 helicopter. The “Tiger” corvette’s baseline is project-20380 Steregushchy [“Guarding”] corvette, which is now undergoing factory and state tests, and which is to enter Russian naval forces’ combat strength in late 2007. Experts estimate one export “Tiger” corvette at about $120-150 million. Primarily South-East Asian countries, as well as Venezuela and Qatar are interested in the corvette.
A wide range of products of the Russian defence industrial complex is represented at the international exhibition of naval machinery and weapons Euronaval'2004, which opened at Le Bourget near Paris on 24 October 2005. The Russian chief delegate made special note of the latest Project 20382 Tigr corvette, featuring Stealth technology.
After experiencing the Western military equipment embargo, Admiral Slamet Soebijanto turned to the East for possibilities. In September 2005, the Navy Chief of Staff and his team visited Russia to explore the purchase of warships from Rosoboronexport, Russia's armament industry. The navy's Strategic Plan for 2003-2013, created by Soebijanto's predecessor Bernard Kent Sondakh, included the purchase of four Sigma Class corvettes from Holland. The plan was already approved by the House of Representatives (DPR). The four ships were to be purchased in two stages-the first in 2003. The Dutch government provided export credit facilities. The first two ships were currently being constructed and were expected to be ready in 2007.
After the presentation of the project 20382 Tiger Corvette, an export variant of the project 20380 Steregushchiy (Guardian) Corvette, a number of participants of the International Naval Salon held in June 2007 in St. Petersburg, there was some customer interest in it. Rosoboronexport (Russian Defense Export State Corporation) was working actively in this direction and hoped to have some particular contracts by the summer of 2008.
On 29 June 2007, at the 3rd International Naval Exhibition in St. Petersburg, Rosoboronexport’s First Deputy Director General Vladimir Pakhomov and Indonesian Naval Forces Commander Admiral Slamet Subijanto signed a contract agreement on building project-20382 “Tiger” corvettes for Indonesia’s Navy. Later a firm contract would have to be signed, fixing the terms for the project’s implementation and the number of ships to be built.
The corvette hulls would be built in Spain according to Russia’s design. There they would be equipped with engines and navigation equipment. The corvettes would sail under their own power to Severnaya Verf, where communication equipment, radio-electric equipment, armaments and other systems would be installed.
It was Indonesia that required the corvette’s hull to be built in Spain. Rosoboronexport agreed to this plan in order to gain access to Indonesia’s naval market. Spain had been successfully working at Indonesia’s defense market for a long time. Thus it was said to be easier for Rosoboronexport to promote Russian ships to Indonesia thru Spain. Spain had not initially chosen the dockyard for building the corvettes.*
ate arms exporter Rosoboronexport and France's Thales Group agreed on Friday to market jointly-developed naval equipment internationally.
"Today, Rosoboronexport and the Thales company signed at the International Naval Show in St. Petersburg a memorandum on cooperation in the sphere of naval equipment," said Mikhail Bychkov, a Rosoboronexport official.
With operations in 50 countries and 68,000 employees, Thales is a world leader in information systems for the aerospace, defense and security markets.
Bychkov said the deal would create opportunities for combining the export potential of both companies to promote future projects, including Russian-built Project 20382 Tiger class corvettes equipped with electronics manufactured by Thales.In June 2007, Rosoboronexport and Indonesia signed an agreement on the construction of two Project 20382 vessels for the Indonesian navy.
No comments:
Post a Comment