08 September 2010

Israel Selling Gear to Russia

Look, we get it. There are a lot of Russian Jews, and the natural tendency might be to play nice with the motherland. But is the US really going to stand by and let Israel sell gear to the Russians that are going to end up in use against Georgia... again?

Russia is particularly interested in acquiring Israeli unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). In 2009, Russia bought 12 drones from Israel Aerospace Industries, following its war with Georgia, during which Georgian military forces used Israeli Elbit Systems Hermes 450 UAVs.

The Russian army is training 50 soldiers to operate the 12 pilotless aircraft, Interfax reported.

Israel recently put plans to establish a joint venture with Russia to manufacture UAVs on hold, amid concerns regarding the transfer of sensitive technology.

On Monday, Serdyukov said, following his meeting with Barak, that it was important to borrow experience and know-how from the Israeli armed forces for the modernization of Russian armed forces.


By: Brant

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