Login

 

Forgot password?
submarines shipbuilding Black Sea Fleet exercise Pacific Fleet Russian Navy Northern Fleet strategy cooperation Ukraine visits Russia piracy missiles trials Sevastopol history Sevmash presence contracts drills Baltic Fleet industry incident anti-piracy shipyards Gulf of Aden frigate training Somalia India developments reforms opinion Borei procurements policy Russia - India aircraft carrier Crimea arms exports USA St. Petersburg France tests financing Bulava Yury Dolgoruky US Navy Serdiukov cruise Mediterranean Zvezdochka NATO innovations United Shipbuilding Corporation Indian Navy Medvedev Arctic agreements commission Admiralteyskie Verfi Admiral Gorshkov Vladivostok Mistral accident hijacking corvettes overhaul Admiral Kuznetsov anniversary Russia - France Vysotsky Rosoboronexport ceremony event Yantar Severomorsk negotiations defense order conflict aircraft China deployment naval aviation investigations Black Sea Putin Varyag coast guard Novorossiysk Vikramaditya landing craft crime Far East marines Severnaya Verf meeting scandals memorials traditions Syria statistics Japan escort South Korea Yasen Neustrashimy tenders Marshal Shaposhnikov Admiral Chabanenko convoys Ukrainian Navy problems Severodvinsk Chirkov reinforcement tension firings tragedy technology Baltic Sea search and rescue Almaz Moskva frontier service Caspian Flotilla provocation hostages upgrade court Dmitry Donskoy keel laying rumors Turkey World War II death shipwreck Admiral Panteleyev Atalanta Petr Veliky helicopters Kilo class Kaliningrad Admiral Vinogradov Norway Rubin delivery launching patrols
Search
Our friends russian navy weapons world sailing ships
 
Tell a friend Print version

Libyan leader to discuss arms deals during visit to Russia

31.10.2008

Deliveries of Russian air defense systems, combat aircraft and warships will be among the key issues to be discussed during the upcoming visit to Moscow of Libya's president, a senior official said on Friday.

Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi will pay an official visit to Russia at the invitation of President Dmitry Medvedev from October 31 to November 2.

"Russia and Libya share a long history of close cooperation [in the military-technical sphere]. We will pay particular attention to the modernization of weaponry which was delivered to Libya during the Soviet era," said Mikhail Dmitriyev, head of the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation.

"Among the new types of weaponry, Libya is interested in purchasing air defense systems, combat aircraft and warships," he added.

Libya used to be one of the key buyers of Soviet arms with estimated deliveries worth $20 billion. Moscow supplied Tripoli with about 300 combat aircraft, up to 4,000 tanks, dozens of air defense missile systems, warships and small arms. At present the outdated equipment desperately needs modernizing.

The lifting of sanctions in 2003, imposed on Libya by the UN in the early 1990s over its suspected terror links, reopened a promising arms market for Russia, estimated at $11 billion.

According to open sources, Libya's armed forces are 90% equipped with Russian weaponry.

Libya needs to modernize its fleet of outdated MiG-21, MiG-23, MiG-25, Su-17 and Su-24 aircraft. The country also needs to upgrade 60 S-125 Pechora air defense missile systems or replace them with either S-300PMU-2 or Tor-M1 systems.

In addition, the North African country has expressed interest in Russia's newest Project 20382 corvette and Project 636 diesel-electric submarines.

Russia's Vedomosti business daily said last week that Libyan arms deals worth more than $2 billion could be signed during Qaddafi's visit.

Back to the list





Back to news list