Posted on 04/04/2008 5:22:05 AM PDT by PapaBear3625
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez may sign a contract for four Russian diesel submarines on a visit to Moscow next month, the Kommersant daily has reported, citing unidentified officials.
Chavez has been invited to the May inauguration of Dmitry Medvedev as Russian president.
If he takes up the invitation, the Venezuelan leader may use the opportunity to sign a contract to buy four Kilo-class diesel submarines agreed to at the start of this year, the paper said.
Kommersant said the submarine contract, worth about $1 billion ($1.27 billion), had been set to be signed in February.
Venezuela is seeking a loan of about $800 million ($1.02 billion) from a Russian bank, probably from Russia's official debt agent, Vneshekonombank, for some of the arms purchases, the paper said, adding that the loan had yet to be agreed.
Officials at Venezuela's Moscow embassy were not immediately available for comment on the report. A spokesman for Russia's state arms exporter could not be reached for comment and the foreign ministry declined to comment.
The paper said Venezuela also wants to buy 12 Ilyushin Il-76 military transport aircraft while Russia is interested in selling Caracas its new generation Sukhoi Su-35 fighters, which are still being tested.
Venezuela is Russia's fourth biggest arms buyer after China, India and Algeria.
Chavez, a socialist and fierce US critic, has made regular visits to Russia, the world's second biggest oil exporter, and has praised President Vladimir Putin for standing up to the United States.
Russia is seeking to boost arms exports to Latin America as some of its traditional customers - such as India - express concerns over late deliveries and price rises for its arms.
Some of Moscow's military technology has not been updated since the Cold War and it has been falling behind Western competitors, particularly in the area of electronics, military analysts say.
The Kilo-class submarine, known in Russia as Project 636, has a submerged displacement of about 4,000 tons and is considered to be one of the quietest diesel submarines in the world. It carries a total of eighteen torpedoes.
I believe that is obtained using AIP technology which is not particularly stealthy.
Whaddya mean "force"?
:-)
Yes, and they have such a long tradition of submarine service as to make all our efforts futile! Your wrong on this one Papa.
Needless to say that there has been a Kilo-Class sub parked in San Diego Bay for several years, compared to anything we drive its a piece of junk but its a great tour.
My thoughts exactly.
Getting a billion dollars for crap you don’t want anymore. BRILLIANT!
Never take anything for granted.
Russian Aces of the Korean War
MiG-15bis Fagot '16' flown by Semen Fedorets to score his two last F-86 kills (June-July 1953)
Oh, I definitely think Putin should loan Hugo a few billion bucks to buy military hardware he’ll never be able to use. Hugo will piss off his people with his wasteful spending, and Putin will never collect the debts. It’s win-win.
Got anything on Venezuelan aces?
A cursory examination of a world map will reveal one possible strategic mission for these boats - the Atlantic end of the Panama canal. Beyond that they're expensive toys for a pumped-up little caudillo. IMHO, of course.
Joke all you want. A lack of attack boats is a very serious problem that could get a lot of people killed in the long run. And there is nothing in the submarine world quieter than a diesel boat. Whether the Kilos are still hard to track is questionable, but the idea that diesel is inferior to nuclear is absolutely unfounded.
I think you've got a good estimate there.
In the right hands? No, we can't. The Swedes have had a diesel boat at San Diego for over a year now and it runs rings around every U.S. nuke sent to find it.
Having said that, submarines take a trained crew to run. Venezuela has two 30 year old German diesel boats, and I'd have to wonder how effective they've been for the last decade or more. So it stands to reason that Venzuela has few trained submariners to man these boats with. And fewer, if any, submarine commanders who can make the most of their capabilities.
Exactly.
That is not the point. The point is that, during the Korean War, the Russians were secretly flying North Korean aircraft against the U.S. and scoring an impressive number of kills.
The Commanding Officer of a future Venezuelan submarine that sneaks undected into a U.S. Battle Group (as the CHICOM's have done) and scores a hit on a CVN could very well be named "Sergei Karnovich".
In the Historical Trivia Department, in regards to "Venezuelan aces", there were none but one Venezuelan did have four kills, one short of being an ace.
Leutnant der Reserve Carlos Meyer Baldó (Karl Meyer) was the Venezuelan born and raised son of a Venezuelan mother and a German immigrant father who volunteered for service in World War One and joined von Richthofen's "Flying Circus" flying in Jagdstaffel 11 (Richthofen's own squadron) and Jagdstaffel 4.
His confirmed victories were:
July 31, 1917 a British RE.8
June 28, 1918 a French SPAD XIII
July 15, 1918 a French SPAD XIII
July 18, 1918 a British Sopwith Camel
After the war, her returned home to Venezuela.
Kurt Wüsthoff (left) & Carlos Meyer (right) besides an Albatross D.V
Carlos Meyer in his Fokker D.VII with his "Bulldog" personal insignia
The Russians could very easily put Russina crews in those boats and Russian pilots in those Sukhois. Would that make them the biggest threat on the planet? No. Would they be a joke? Heck no.
Consider this - a Kilo could smuggle stuff into the USA for YEARS, without being detected.
Interesting thought.
Of course, any idiot can make a sub go down...
Note to Hugo: There’s cheaper ways of creating artificial reefs off your coast... Just thought you’d like know.
That's a possibility worth thinking about. We don't do customs inspections of every little sailboat that goes a couple of miles offshore
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