LATEST: VIETNAM BUYS 4 SUKHOI SU-30MKK FIGHTERS

nWo SG

Source:
The Moscow Times

Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2003. Page 5

Vietnam Orders More Fighters

By Lyuba Pronina
Staff Writer

Vietnam on Monday agreed to buy four Sukhoi fighter jets for $100 million, a deal that adds fresh impetus to President Vladimir Putin's drive to increase arms sales to Southeast Asia.

The deal, which follows sales earlier this year to Indonesia and Malaysia, means Southeast Asia this year may surpass China as Russia's top arms market, defense industry experts said.

Vietnam signed a protocol agreement with state arms export agency Rosoboronexport to buy four Su-30MKKs, according to a source within Aviation Holding Co. Sukhoi. The fighters are made by the Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aviation Production Association.

Hanoi already has 12 Su-27s.

This is the third arms deal with Vietnam this year, according to Konstantin Makiyenko, deputy head of the Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies defense think tank. Earlier this year it bought 12 Project 12418 missile boats for $120 million and the S-300PMU1 air defense systems for $250 million, he said.

"These purchases reflect a balanced replacement of obsolete systems acquired from the Soviet Union," he said.

The new order caps a banner year for Sukhoi fighters, which have accounted for nearly half of all Russian arms exports in recent years.

China bought 24 Su-30MK2s in January, Indonesia signed up for four Su-27/30s in April, and Malaysia agreed to buy 18 Su-30MKMs in August.

"The Southeast Asian arms market is hot," Makiyenko said.

Combined, the contracts with Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam are worth about $1.6 billion, while the deal with China, which is notoriously tight-lipped about its arms purchases, is worth about $1.2 billion, Makiyenko said.

Rosoboronexport declined to comment on the deal signed Monday, except to say that it is "continuing to successfully sign contracts."

Rosoboronexport deputy director Sergei Chemezov was quoted by Arms-TASS as saying last month that total arms deliveries by the agency in the first 10 months of 2003 topped $4.5 billion.

Makiyenko said that 2003 is the fourth straight year of record arms exports for both Rosoboronexport and Russia as a whole.

He said Rosoboronexport's actual revenues, which differ from deliveries, could hit $5 billion this year.

nWo SG

Source: Radio Free Asia

VIETNAM ON ARMS SHOPPING TRIP TO BELARUS

2003-11-10

Former Soviet states are favored for missile systems

A top Vietnamese military official visited Belarus this month to continue his country's purchase program of Soviet-designed weapons for its air missile defense program, RFA's Vietnamese service reports.

Gen. Bui Dang Phiet, deputy commander of Vietnam's air force, visited Belarus Oct. 28-Nov. 7, according to the Belarus defense ministry.

During the visit, Gen. Phietwho has responsibility for air defense and armaments procurementmet his Belarus counterpart Anatoly Vankovich, to discuss "military-technical cooperation," the ministry said.

The visit comes soon after Vietnam signed a deal with Russia in August for the import of two Soviet-designed S300 PMU1 air defense batteriesor 12 missile launchersfor an estimated US$300 million.

The S300 PMU is a more advanced version of the SA-10C Grumble air defense missile.

The purchasing trip to Belarus is the latest in a series of attempts by Hanoi to boost its military capabilities with Russian weapons, owing to its familiarity with Soviet arms during the Vietnam War.

In March 2001, Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Hanoi and announced a new strategic partnership with Vietnam. The Russian leader said that "Vietnam needs not just to maintain its existing weapons bought from the Soviet Union and Russia but also needs modern weapons."

In March 2002, Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov went to Hanoi and pledged to supply advanced weapons to Vietnam.

In recent years, Vietnam has purchased Russian Sukhoi fighter-bombers, and an anti-ship missile system. In 1995, Hanoi bought six Sukhoi Su-27 Flanker fighter jets for $150 million. And in 1997, it signed a contract for six more planes and spare parts. Moscow has been selling Su-27 aircraft with combat range of 3,680 kilometers to Vietnam, as well as China.

Vietnam has also found ways to acquire Russian weaponry through unofficial channels.

In October 2002, customs officers in St. Petersburg found spare parts for state-of-the-art Russian anti-aircraft systems in containers bound for Vietnam, labeled as automobile parts. The incident does not appear to have affected S300 sales, however.