Russia scraps another batch of Topol systems under START-1 treaty

Russia scraps another batch of Topol systems under START-1 treaty
15:05 | 29/ 05/ 2008

MOSCOW, May 29 (RIA Novosti) - Russia has dismantled another six outdated Topol mobile ballistic missile systems under a major international treaty on strategic arms reduction, the Strategic Missile Forces said in a statement on Thursday.

"We scrapped six outdated Topol mobile systems. This is the second such procedure conducted this year," the statement said.

The first batch of six Topol systems this year was scrapped between March 17 and 26.

All of the systems were based in the Udmurt Republic in the eastern Urals.

The Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START-I) was signed by the United States and the Soviet Union on July 31, 1991, five months before the Union collapsed, and remains in force between the U.S., Russia, and three other ex-Soviet states.

Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine have since disposed of all their nuclear weapons or transferred them to Russia, and the U.S. and Russia have reduced the number of delivery vehicles to 1,600, with no more than 6,000 warheads. The treaty is set to expire December 5, 2009.

Topol (SS-25 Sickle) is a single-warhead intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), approximately the same size and shape as the U.S. Minuteman ICBM.

The first Topol missiles became operational in 1985, and at the time the START I Treaty was signed, the Soviet Union had some 290 Topol ICBMs deployed.

Although the service life of the SS-25 was extended to 21 years after a series of successful test launches last year, the missile will be progressively retired over the next decade and be replaced by a mobile version of the Topol-M (SS-27 Sickle B) missile.

The Strategic Missile Forces press service earlier said 36 mobile Topol ICBMs were dismantled in 2007 under close monitoring by U.S. inspectors.

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Russia helps to upgrade NATO's MiGs
14:20 | 29/ 05/ 2008

MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti military commentator Ilya Kramnik) - An unusually camouflaged plane catches visitors' eye at the ILA-2008 Air Show in Berlin. It is an upgraded Soviet-made MiG-29SD fighter plane from the Slovakian Air Force that meets all NATO standards.

The issue of using Soviet military equipment cropped up a long time ago, following the merger of the two Germanies. The new Germany was the one to demonstrate two possible ways of dealing with the matter: keeping the more advanced models, including MiG-29s, in operation for a definite period, and selling the older systems to other countries and regions, such as Turkey and Africa.

As former Warsaw Pact countries joined NATO, things got more complicated. The vast numbers of Soviet-made weapons in the Polish, Czech, Slovakian, Hungarian and other armies threatened to upset the delicate balance between alliance and non-alliance arms in NATO.

A seemingly simple solution - replacing the Soviet weapons with Western models - could not be implemented because Western-manufactured equipment was too costly for the young democracies, while older systems when demothballed often had worse characteristics than the Soviet arms of the 1960s and 1980s, and called for huge sums of money to modernize them.

The way out was found by upgrading and converting Soviet equipment to Western standards. A lot can be said about various projects to convert different models of ground, naval and air equipment, but two stand out: the MiG-21 Lancer in Romania and the MiG-29SD in Slovakia.

Israeli specialists, with a background in the aircraft business, helped to bring the Lancer up to par. Israel's IAI company fitted Romania's MiG-21M/MF combat planes and MiG-21UM trainers with new avionics, including multi-functional LCD panels, a helmet-mounted targeting system, and an onboard computer, as well as all-purpose pylons to use both Soviet/Russian- and Western-made arms and equipment containers.

The project, promising to be a success, nevertheless almost flopped. Upgraded without the manufacturer's advice and refitted with parts of doubtful quality, MiG-21 fighters started to crash and lost the fame of the practically indestructible machines they enjoyed since the 1950s. This made other countries using Soviet aircraft with plans to re-engineer them sit up and take notice of their contractors.

As a result, Bulgaria and Slovakia using Soviet fighter planes - this time MiG-29s - decided to turn to the manufacturing country for their repairs and improvements.

Slovakian MiGs are perhaps the most successful example of adapting Soviet aircraft to NATO standards. These planes have been equipped with an improved Russian-designed radar, a mid-air refueling system, and Western-made communication, friend-or-foe identification and radio navigation systems. The cockpit is fitted with multi-functional LCD screens. The armaments have remained unchanged - Russian-built R-27 and R-73 missiles satisfy the Slovakian top brass.

The upgraded MiGs have also been completely overhauled, enabling them to stay in service until the early 2030s. During this time they may undergo several more refits and may be provided with more advanced equipment to keep them in proper fighting condition.

The success of the Slovakian contract shows that Russia's defense industry can stand its own against the West in its home field - aircraft for NATO's air forces. And not only in aircraft - Greece's purchase of Russian ships and air defense systems is another fine example. Hopefully, contracts, both filled and to be filled, are only a beginning, the beginning of the Russian defense industry's comeback to the European market.

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Russia launches production of new MiG-29M/M2 fighter
17:15 | 30/ 05/ 2008

NIZHNY NOVGOROD, May 30 (RIA Novosti) - The Sokol aircraft plant, based in Nizhny Novgorod, central Russia, is to launch production of the MiG-29M/M2 Fulcrum fighter plane, the company's general director said on Friday.

Mikhail Shibayev said the first aircraft to be produced is planned to be completed in the second quarter of 2010.

MiG's general director, Anatoly Belov, said the new aircraft will use the most advanced technology, specifically the Zhuk-M onboard radar and cutting-edge avionics.

He said the fighter will be sold both at home and abroad, adding that the company had already received an order for the aircraft from an undisclosed foreign customer.

The plane's integrated weapon control system is built around the Zhuk-M airborne radar, an IR search and track system and a helmet-mounted target designation system.

The fighter has the capability to detect air targets at ranges of up to 120 km and has the potential to attack four targets simultaneously.

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Algerian scandal: swapping MiGs for MiGs
17:07 | 30/ 05/ 2008

MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti military commentator Ilya Kramnik) - In 2007, Algeria cancelled a $1.3 billion contract for the sale of 34 Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-29 Fulcrum fighters and said it would return 15 MiG-29s purchased from the MiG corporation in 2006-2007 to Russia.

The Algerian decision was motivated by the fact that the warplanes had used or substandard components.

Many analysts said the incident highlighted a major crisis plaguing the Russian defense industry, and that the industry was becoming increasingly unable to manufacture sophisticated military equipment.

This spring, the media reported that Russia and Algeria were in talks to supply MiG-35 fighters, the more advanced versions of the MiG-29, to El Jazair. Representatives of Rosoboronexport, the main Russian state arms exporter, told a news conference at the Berlin Air Show ILA 2008 that the company would offer its MiG-35s to Algeria.

The rather suspicious Algerian scandal should not be used to assess the potential of Russia's defense industry. According to some analysts, the incident was provoked by European aircraft producers attempting to oust Moscow from the lucrative North African market.

By fueling the scandal, Algeria may have hoped to sign a more profitable contract.

It is an open secret that rival military-equipment producers often resort to different tactics. Suffice it to recall the 2006-2007 scandal involving the so-called Al Yamamah (Dove) deals regarding the Tornado, Hawk and Eurofighter Typhoon warplane sales by BAE Systems, a British defense and aerospace company, to Saudi Arabia from 1985 till 2006.

The United Kingdom's Serious Fraud Office accused BAE of maintaining a $33.4 million slush fund for bribing members of the Saudi royal family.

On December 1, 2006, The Daily Telegraph ran a front page story suggesting that Saudi Arabia had given the U.K. ten days to suspend the Serious Fraud Office investigation into BAE/Saudi Arabian transactions or they would take the deal to France.

On December 14, 2006, Attorney General Lord Goldsmith announced that the investigation would be discontinued.

Many analysts believe the scandal was triggered by French secret services trying to facilitate a Rafale fighter victory in the Saudi tender.

After the MiG scandal, Algeria received an opportunity to buy the most advanced Russian warplanes. The MiG-35, which looks just like the MiG-29, features sophisticated components and equipment, including a state-of-the-art fire-control system with a phased-array radar. The multi-channel fire-control system helps launch air-to-air and air-to-surface missiles.

Unlike the Mig-29 air-superiority fighter, the MiG-35 can be called a multi-role fighter.

The MiG-35's cockpit features multi-role liquid-crystal monitors, and the hands on throttle and stick (HOTAS) system allows the pilot to access the cockpit functions and fly the aircraft. Having all switches on the stick and throttle allows the pilot to keep his hands on both control columns, thus eliminating the need to take his eyes off the horizon and the heads-up display (HUD).

The plane owes its enhanced maneuverability to vectored-thrust engines. This makes it possible to down enemy aircraft in short-range dogfights and escape incoming missiles.

The fighter's two-seat version featuring the same avionics is, in fact, an improvised command center for coordinating operations at the flight and squadron level, and can accomplish the most difficult objectives together with single-seat MiG-35s.

Although MiG warplanes have a shorter range, less powerful radars and carry less ordnance, the more expensive heavy-duty Sukhoi fighters boasting more impressive specifications are less suited for the Algerian Air Force's relatively small area of operations.