Eight months ago
Russia believed it had landed a new big customer. Iraq had agreed to
buy over $4 billion worth of Russian arms. Recently Russia announced
that it had received the first payments and had ordered manufacturing to
begin on the aircraft and missile systems included in the deal. But in
Iraq anti-corruption investigators (and their supporters in parliament)
warn that the Russian deal might still be dead. That’s because a chunk
of that $4 billion was given back to Iraqi officials as bribes to get
the deal approved. This is pretty normal in Iraq but increasingly under
attack by those advocating clean government, or political opponents of
those who got the bribes.
Among the systems included in the deal are 30 Mi-28NE attack
helicopters and up to fifty Pantsir-S1 (SA-22) mobile anti-aircraft
systems. The helicopters take a while to manufacture which was why
Russia waited until a down payment arrived before getting started.
The Pantsir-S1 anti-aircraft system entered service four years
ago, after more than a decade in development. Pantsir-S1 Development
began in the 1990s, but was sporadic for nearly a decade because there
was no money. Meanwhile, several Arab nations have been persuaded to
order over 200 Pantsir-S1 vehicles. This encouraged Iraq. Pantsir-S1 is a
mobile system, each vehicle carries radar, two 30mm cannon, and twelve
Tunguska missiles. The 90 kg (198 pound) missiles have a twenty
kilometer range, the radar a 30 kilometer range. The missile can hit
targets at up to 8,400 meters (26,000 feet). The 30mm cannon is
effective up to 3,200 meters (10,000 feet). The vehicle can vary but the
most common one carrying all this weighs 20 tons and has a crew of
three. Each Pantsir-S1 vehicle costs about $15 million.
Russia is replacing its 250 Mi-24 helicopter gunships with 300
of the more recent Mi-28s. The Mi-24 is a twelve ton chopper based on
the Mi-8/17 transport. The U.S. did the same thing with the AH-1,
developing it from the UH-1 "Huey." But rather than adopt the two seater
(one pilot behind the other) approach of the AH-1 and AH-64 Apache, the
Mi-24 could still carry troops or cargo in the back and was not as
nimble as the AH-1. The 11 ton Mi-28 looks more like the AH-64. That's
because, by the end of the 1960s, the Russians realized that the AH-1
design was superior. For several years there was intense competition, to
decide which of its two new helicopter gunship designs (the Ka-50 and
Mi-28N) to make standard. The Mi-28N is a more capable helicopter,
costing about the same as the earlier American AH-64A ($15 million
each).
The Mi-28N "Night Hunter" is an all-weather, night attack
version of the 1980s era Mi-28A, with added FLIR (night vision sensor),
night fighting optics, and a two man crew. The basic Mi-28 is an 11.6
ton helicopter that can carry 1.6 tons of rockets and missiles. The
aircraft also has a 30mm cannon. The cockpit for the two man crew is
armored and the helicopter has missile countermeasures (chaff and
flares), GPS, head up display, laser designator, and other gadgets. The
Mi-28N has a top speed of 300 kilometers an hour and a one way range of
1,100 kilometers. It can carry up to 16 anti-tank missiles (with a range
of up to eight kilometers). The helicopter can also carry 80mm rockets,
bombs, or fuel for additional range. The Mi-28 has been around in small
quantities for two decades but the Mi-28N is the most advanced model,
on par with the American AH-64D gunship (which is a little lighter). The
first version of the Mi-28N was shown in 1996, although the
manufacturer, Mil, wasn't ready to offer for sale until 2004.
The Russians are also pushing their large line of armored
vehicles and artillery systems. Russia has a good reputation with these
and the prices are attractive. Another appealing Russian custom is a
more comfortable attitude towards bribes, which Iraqi officials are
quite fond of. Dealing with American supplies can often be a problem
when it comes to helping Iraqi officials skim some of the sales price.
The Russians believe that the Americans, angry at losing sales to
Russia, are behind all this corruption nonsense.
No comments:
Post a Comment