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India To Pay $4.5 Billion For Putin's "Jewels" In Largest Defense Deal In A Decade
Russia’s vaunted S-300 and S-400 missile systems have been in the news quite a bit of late.
Last month, Moscow and Tehran officially revived a long stalled contract worth some $800 million that will see a handful of S-300s delivered to Tehran over the next several months. The deal was initially reached in 2007 but was put on hold in 2010 amid the international sanctions on Iran. Putin lifted the ban earlier this year, citing progress on the Iran nuclear deal.
Needless to say, the US and Israel were not amused. “We made clear time and again our objections to any sale of the S-300 missile system to Iran,” US State Department spokesman Mark Toner said.
"The S-300 is exclusively a defensive weapon, which can't serve offensive purposes and will not jeopardize the security of any country, including, of course, Israel,” Sergei Lavrov remarked in April, after Russia decided to move ahead with the contract.
Lavrov is correct, but Israel's concern isn't that the Iranians are planning a preemptive strike. Rather, Netanyahu worries that the systems will be used to protect Tehran's nuclear sites and/or be diverted to Lebanon or Syria. “Israeli concern about a future missile deal between Russia and Iran pertains to the possible transfer of this weapons system to Bashar Assad's regime in Syria or to Hezbollah, which would significantly limits the Israel Air Force's freedom of activity in Syrian or Lebanese skies,” an unnamed Israeli official told Haaretz last spring.
Well as it turns out, advanced Russian air defense systems did indeed end up in Syria and Assad’s army as well as Hezbollah are indeed among the beneficiaries.
Rumors were already circulating that Russia had sent S-400s to Latakia when Turkey shot down one of Moscow’s warplanes near the Syrian border. In the aftermath of that incident, Russia made it official and deployed the weapons to protect The Kremlin’s interests in the event anyone else gets any ideas about taking pot shots at a Sukhoi.
As we reported earlier this month, Israel has been secretly training against an S-300 in Crete in what looks like an effort to learn how to beat the system in the event the units end up protecting Iranian and Syrian interests on the ground.
On Wednesday, the S-400 was back in the news. As Bloomberg reports, India is set to buy five S-400s for some $4.5 billion from Russia as part of a broader initiative by PM Narendra Modi to upgrade the country's military. Here's more:
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi heads to Moscow after approving what’s set to be his nation’s biggest weapons deal with Russia since 2001, reaffirming a military partnership that newer suppliers like the U.S. will find difficult to dislodge.
The S-400 air defense missile systems, which India plans to buy, are among the "crown jewels" of Russia’s defense capability, according to Jon Grevatt, Asia-Pacific defense-industry analyst for IHS Jane’s. The two-day visit starting Dec. 23 will also include a private dinner with Russian President Vladimir Putin and an event at the Kremlin with Russian and Indian chief executives.
"Russia and India have a very strong partnership that the U.S. can only aspire to," said Grevatt. "Sales from America may ebb and flow, but the sales from Russia will remain strong because there are so many ongoing programs between the two countries."
The $150 billion that Modi plans to spend to upgrade his military could be a welcome diversion for Putin, who’s bracing for a second year of recession amid Western sanctions. Although the U.S. emerged as India’s biggest defense supplier last fiscal year, the Asian nation’s links with Russia stretch back to their Soviet-era ties.
India’s defense acquisition panel last week approved the purchase of five S-400 systems. While the price is still to be negotiated, it’s likely to cost about $4.5 billion, a defense ministry official said, asking not to be identified because the detail isn’t public yet.
That would make it the biggest deal by value since 2001, when India agreed to buy 140 Su-30MK Sukhoi fighter jets, which the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute estimates to be worth as much as $5.4 billion.
Bloomberg goes on to list more possible deals between the two countries:
- Kamov OAO may name an Indian partner to build 200 Ka-226T light military cargo helicopters in India; the deal may be valued at $1 billion, India TV reported
- Lease of a second nuclear-powered attack submarine from Russia. First submarine was leased in 2012 for $1 billion over 10 years
- Indian navy order for three Russian frigate warships. India paid about $1 billion for three Talwar-class frigates in 1997
- Agreement to re-start joint development of a fifth-generation fighter aircraft, stalled for two years over cost differences. Estimated project value: $10 billion
So here again is "isolated" Russia forced to peddle antiquated Soviet military technology to tiny, rogue states. Oh, wait. Actually this is Moscow selling the most advanced air defense technology on the planet to one of the world's most important emerging economies with whom The Kremlin has a long and very amicable relationship.
For anyone still buying the Putin "isolation" story, we encourage you to speak to PM Modi who had the following to say about the Russian leader this week:
"The best thing is that he knows how to maintain relations. He has a special strength to sacrifice for the relations. It is rarely found."
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State Dept is puking all over itself right now.
Unless India would sell the USA an S-400 system... Do I hear $1 billion?
A pissed off John Kerry, with ketchup dripping out of his nose, has just called his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, with the question: “You Rang?” ;-)
Looney
The truly important detail and value of this deal is its strategically value; it shows with whom the purchaser aligns strategically with and by inference against whom.
Its INDIA that is buying these S-400s, not ISRAEL.
All the weapons in the world won't matter once ISIS army kick into gear!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gq_su8XIpZU
An interesting story concerning Putin......
http://beforeitsnews.com/conspiracy-theories/2015/12/is-russian-presiden...
Pay attention to how the article was worded.
It says advanced systems were supplied to Assad and Hezbollah - BUT - does not indicate the S300 or later were delivered. Because they have NOT. Putin has NOT delivered the S300 or later to Assad - and we cannot stop laughing at the insinuation that the S300 or later was supplied to Hezbollah.
Next lets look at Iran shall we. A year ago we were told that Putin was going to supply the S300+ to Iran in just a couple months. It never happened. Then almost two months ago we were told Putin will Now supply the S300+ to Iran in just 2 months. (HAS NOT HAPPENED) Now we get another article that the S300+ will be delivered in yet Anogher 2 months.
Why re-fight the last war, when there is a new war with different rules already raging?
Sales are to keep the MIC happy and the books balanced. Rentals are to keep the peace.
There are already S400s in Syria. The biggest debate about Saudi nukes is whether the contract was cash and carry or whether its a full service package that includes Pakistani operators...
Russia has road mobile nukes (and airliftable S-400s) just across the Iranian border and has already established one additional overseas base this year, and rentals don't run afoul of either non-proliferation treaties or UN arms embargoes.
I doubt it. The US just inked a billion dollar or so deal with the Sauds. And I don't think the US is at war with India.
Actually, the US Deep State populated by Zionazis is at war with EVERYONE who might stand in the way of the NWO.
All those H1B visas to a country that is closely aligned with our main antagonist -- just think, those visa holders have full access to all of our banking, health care, and defense data, with all of it easily syphoned off and delivered....
Yeah sure. As if anyone except people from the third world would want to go to the US.
robot07: All those H1B visas to a country that is closely aligned with our main antagonist.
Yea, why was it again that we are antagonistic towards Russia? Does Russia have military bases in 168 countries? Is Russia ring fencing our country with bases?
So many US hospitals have the VPN security in India.
The Indians have access to many US Social Security numbers and are out of bounds with regards to prosecution.
Pakistan just has to get plants in Indian IT firms and they can have access to millions of American personal data.
Even bank accounts and credit card info.
You might bs surprised at how antaganostic Indians are to Pakistanis in India (not that I advocate it). In the airport I saw one tourist from Pakistani being grilled before immigration stamp, they have tuff time getting hotel rooms. Even their musicians performances get mobbed. I doubt a Pakistani can get a job in an IT company in India.
Amusing, isn't it? All that puff and blather implicitly threatening China and Russia over this, over that -- but America's highfalutin' high-tech backbone can't and won't run without thousands of cheap Indian and Chinese geeks. It only takes one or two with system privileges to compromise "smart" infrastructure across the country. Do YOU feel like betting that there aren't ANY (remember that many H1B jobs are virtually indentured servitude) willing to commit sabotage for the government where their families live?
American security is an overpriced joke.
"American security is an overpriced joke."
Now, now. It's actually accomplished its goal very nicely. Unfortunately, that goal was to enrich defense contractors. The good news is, people are finally actually starting to wake up to how badly we have all been collectively screwed.
I'll refer the discriminating to Killing Joke's new album "Pylon," and the track "I am the Virus" in particular, for a good example of how art is beginning to express the outrage and fury that so many of us are feeling. Hard to believe that a band formed in the late 70's could still rock so hard, but they've done it, and done it with style. Brutal, punishing, urgent, and utterly vital. Check it out. https://youtu.be/A4wdbibV3IM
I know. Indians in the USA are so bad. They are not only stealing jobs they are stealing the great silicon valley's technology that has made american's life seamless, virginia's army, defense technology which is a waste of tax payer money and health care technology that has made american's live 100 yrs at a very cheap cost, banking (monetary system) that can't even survive a 25 basis point increase and need tax payers money to survive. Its time to hire Chinese and pakistanis. Could you please make that happen asap robot? Seriously H1B visa is your payback for India's deal with Russia? India and Russia have been on good terms for a very long time even when the great USA didn't know that we existed to exploit.
Obama will not be amused. After China, India is buying the S-400 system. And in a few years, both countries will be upgrading to the S-500 system.
So much for the Nobel Prize Winner's plan to bankrupt Putin by attacking oil.
Wait a minute, I thought only the USA had a MIC?
Russia's military complex is substantially different than U.S. Russia uses design bureaus that are government owned. In other words, politics is over industry, not the other way around as in U.S.
Russia spends a fraction of what U.S. spends, and by any analysis, they get a lot more bang for the buck....ahem Ruble.
U.S. MIC likes never ending war, as it keeps a pipeline of money coming in.
Think of it as an elaborate rent scheme, with death and destruction as a side effect.
So it's a "kinder-gentler" MIC, well, that's good to know! ;-)
In the arms EXPORT industry the US has a 29% market share and the Russians have 27% market share.
Their business models are different both domestically and internationally, but
1) they both are rife with corruption
2) they both serve political and financial ends simultaneously
3) in both countries bankers and civil/military "servants" make a lot of money closing deals
Oh come on Urban, you're deconstructing the Kremlins precious eastern internet propaganda memes, the hyper-sonic Vladinator Series IX is only used in "peace keeping missions" ;-)
The profits from the Russian MIC and its cheap and effective weapons go towards improving the next generation of cheap and effective weapons, while the profits from the USSA MIC and its complex, overprices weapons go into TelAviv bank accounts...
"Nobel Prize Winner's plan to bankrupt Putin"
He's already bankrupting the US.
" money Is good no?" Love Vlad
Sooo, ummm, this is why India wanted to pay Rooopies! (I just love saying that...lol) for everyones gold?
Perhaps Russia should install some nuclear missiles in Syria pointed at Israel, in the same way that the US installs missiles around Russia pointed at Russia.
Russia's had missiles located in Russia pointed at Israel and US for a long time. He hardly needs to put them in Syria where he may not be able to control them. Russia can still wipe out the US 1000 times over. That's something those psychopath neocons don't seem to understand.
Is Modi echoing Trump in praising Putin?
"He has a special strength to sacrifice for the relations."
What does Modi mean by that? In what way is this sale a Russian sacrifice?
38BWD22 may have put his finger on it: risking the US getting ahold of the system or key pieces of it for study.
If so, why now?
So THIS is why India wants its citizen's gold???
On the top of the got to be smashed next at all costs scenario ...
1. Russia 2. China ... who is 3rd?
Seeing as India was being touted the saviour of the global economy a couple of months ago it is definitely on the list and by population size probably the 3rd greatest economic hreat to the current global hegemony.
No guesses for what is slowly happening.
He's making his list, he's checking it twice:
Brazil
Russia
India
China
South Africa
(Iran)
(edit: I would propose we add Iran at the end of the list as "BRICSI" has a nice Russian ring to it; and they are of course already on "The List".)
They want a new, mo' better banking system.
Unfortuantely that business is already in the hands of Others and the competition is being dismantled Bric by Bric.
Merry Something or Other!
and so,... I'm assuming that the S-500 has been totally functional as far back as late 2014, and, that the prototype S-600 is well ahead of a scheduled testing launch in early 2017...?
sad, that the American people can't, [and won't?] be, protected by the two great oceans anymoar...[!]
this is what happens when you sub-subcontract out your military for profit rather than for the good of the people...[!]
Being an empirical evidence kind of guy, I'd be more impressed if the Russians had used these systems to shoot down US or IDF made planes. Nothing like a head-to-head match on the Octagon, to settle rival bragging claims.
But hey, shills will shill, and fans will cheer. Everyone participate in the human wave, now.
no1 is going to shell out 4.5b without verifying 100% that the systems work. now back in ur basement u go.
Clearly you've never heard of a little entity called "Government"
I find it laughable that US/ZATO determines who gets to sell what and to whom and it's accepted as a given.
So Putin appeases ZATO for 5 years in complying with No Defense for Iran and all the while ZATO encroaches closer and closer to Russia's border.
Beginning to realise that Iran deserves all the respect of the world in standing alone against ZATO.
The key thing here is: is this deal being paid in US$? Or not?
israel trains with india
they are VERY happy they are going to test with it
but Putin will sell the watered down version of the S400
The real secret to a air defense system is in the missiles, not so much the platform. What comes with the S-400 launchers and (likely detuned) radar infrastructure is the interesting part...
"As we reported earlier this month, Israel has been secretly training against an S-300 in Crete in what looks like an effort to learn how to beat the system [...]"
As several ZH-ers have pointed out, the S-300 system in Crete is an old version dating back 18 years. If Israel assumes that counter-measures it may or may not have developed against it are equally effective against the latest versions Russia has in Syria, that would be very unwise. The Israelis are many things, stupid is not one of them.
This may well explain why some people think that the recent Israeli air attack on the Hezbollah leader used missiles fired from Lebanon airspace, not from inside Syrian airspace.
"Rumors were already circulating that Russia had sent S-400s to Latakia when Turkey shot down one of Moscow’s warplanes near the Syrian border."
It seems likely that the shooting down of the Russian SU-24 bomber by Turkey's fascist despot Erdogan was timed to occur before Russia had S-300/S-400 missile systems up and running in Syria, for fear of being shot down themselves.
Never mind advanced weapons. In the U.S.A., we have a small (I think) survivalist movement. My impression is that the Russians simply take survivalism for granted. Unlike us, they have a knowledge of something called "history". I read whole Russian towns have fall-out shelters kept in good repair. Not us.
One winter the electric power went out in my town. That meant that the gas and oil furnaces became useless because the electric motors that pump the hot water or whatever to distribute the heat stopped working. We thought about getting battery power or electric generators for these emergencies, but this simply turned out to be impractical for a surprising number of reasons.
The U.S.A. has never faced any major long-term infrastructure failure. We have a total house-of-cards system. Take out a few bridges, rail lines, electric power facilities, waterways, or even internet systems, and we will starve, bake, or freeze to death.
The "homeless land security blanket" is useless -- Look what happened to New Orleans. Our infrastructure is not built to handle any crisis. So one dozen strategically placed mini-nukes could wipe 90% of us out. Lose just a few bridges, power stations, rail lines, dams, etc. and we are goners. Those who do survive will simply be eaten by each other.
It won't take much in the way of weapons to wipe us out. Maybe no weapons at all will be needed. Maybe it will all just collapse spontaneously. We simply are not built to last. "They" don't give a damn about us.
Yes. People are figuring out that Putin delivers on his promises, both at home and abroad. If you're not a banker or a Saudi prince, the best you can expect from Uncle Sugar is lectures about democracy, as if Americans enjoyed anything of the kind.
Almost 90% of Indian weapons are of Soviet origin; in spite of very strenuous and conscious efforts by the Indian Government, US weapons are not imported in large numbers. India had an excellent client relationship with USSR; it was USSR veto that helped India in Kashmir issue. And in 1971, USA sent its Seventh Fleet to support the Pakistani dictator who was killing Bangladeshis, when the Indian Army was liberating them. That incident still rankles in Indian minds. So, India has a natural bent towards Russia. In fact, but for Russia, Indian suspicions about China would have prevented it from joining BRICS; India would have been an invaluable ally of the west - but the west always prefers dictators over democracies. We Indians are amazed that after openly supporting Taliban and Al Qaeda, and after secretly sheltering Osama bin Laden himself, and after a thousand shenanigans against American interests, Pakistan is still supported and armed by the Americans. The only conclusion is that for some reason, Americans secretly dislike India; else why should you arm Pakistan when you know perfectly well that these weapons will be used against India?
India is complex, slow, corrupt and incoherent; but it is advancing at a constant pace. It is as big as China, as old, and more complex. And it is democratic - its rulers fear their voters, even when the voters are illiterate and poor - and that is the litmus test for a democracy. USA had repeatedly and sometimes openly snubbed India in the past. I am 100% sure that very soon, USA will approach India to use it against China. (India and China have fought a brief war about fifty years ago, in which India was worsted.) But that trick may not work if Russia is able to assuage Indian fears of China.
The conclusion is, USA throws words of praise towards India, but supports and arms Pakistan; India will praise American people with glorious words but will side with Russia.
Iran ALREADY received first installments of S-300.
http://tass.ru/en/defense/841298
Iran interested in other Russian weapons.
http://nationalinterest.org/feature/5-weapons-iran-would-love-buy-russia...
It's just a matter of time before Iran gets Verba MANPADS. And later? who else but Hezbollah legions??
http://www.janes.com/article/52424/kbm-says-verba-manpads-now-being-sold...
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India purchase PAK-FA.
http://thediplomat.com/2015/11/will-india-purchase-154-fighter-jets-from...
India joint developments of Brahmos-I & Brahmos-II.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/BrahMos-II_(missile)
India leasing ANOTHER Russian's ships (subs, carriers)
http://thediplomat.com/2015/10/india-to-lease-another-nuclear-submarine-...
Also new kilo class submarine.
http://www.defenseworld.net/news/14433/India_Likely_To_Buy_Two_Russian_K...
Also other countries interested
http://thediplomat.com/2015/09/indonesia-to-buy-new-submarines-from-russia/
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China already purchased S-400.
China buys latest Sukhoi (available for exports).
http://thediplomat.com/2015/11/confirmed-china-buys-24-advanced-fighter-...
Other interested party to Russia weapons purchases.
http://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/tons-countries-want-buy-russia...
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Syria purchase of S-300
http://www.rferl.mobi/a/explainer-russia-syria-s-300-missile-system-/250...
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Out of that? Belarus joins Russia INTEGRATED AIR DEFENSE SYSTEM.
http://tass.ru/en/russia/819721
Kazakshtans also joins Russia.
http://tass.ru/en/defense/846324
As also Armenia (look at world map. Where Armenia located. Who's country bordered with Armenia. So, WHO'S TARGETED by that S-300??)
http://tass.ru/en/defense/846364
Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan will soon joins Russia Air Defense Force also.
https://www.rt.com/news/326869-russia-armenia-airdefense-caucasus/
You don't think Russia would just sits idle, while US & NATO coming closer to their border would you?
Well.. that's just a snippets of Russian weapons exports. You could just search google for more..
The missile named after two river Brahmaputra of India and the Moskva of Russia wow!
http://www.brahmos.com/newscenter.php?newsid=83
India wants to be called a superpower on weapons purchased from others
Rather India should have its own capability
& be able to sell such tech. to others
( I heard that Indian defence research ppl from DRDO vanish to USA - fo better life there)