Russia Shopping for Better Weapons Than They Can Make Themselves

Whether it's to invade Georgia, 'pacify' Kyrgyzstan, fight China, or scare the shit out of Estonia, Russia is shopping for $12 Billion in western weapons, much of it from NATO nations.

Russia may buy $12 billion of arms from European and Israeli companies, including DCNS and Iveco SpA, over the next five years as the world’s second-biggest arms exporter hunts for higher-quality weapons than domestic companies can provide, according to a Moscow research institute.

“Russia has been an exception on military procurement, because no other country in the last 15 years tried to be 100 percent autonomous,” said center Director Ruslan Pukhov. “Now we have recognized that you can’t be competitive in all areas.”

While the military has always purchased some weapons from abroad, the search for overseas suppliers increased after the five-day war with Georgia in 2008 revealed weaknesses in Russian technology, Pukhov said. The drive for foreign equipment is now reaching the stage of large-scale deals. Russia ranked 80th in arms imports in 2005-2009 behind Myanmar, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

You have to believe a significant portion of this is for reverse engineering, and not just for field use.

By: Brant