Russia pushes for Gulf naval sales

Space War ^ | 3/30/2010 | Space War

[ErnstStavroBlofeld]

Russia arms industry is pushing hard for a major breakthrough into the lucrative Gulf market at the Doha International Maritime Defense Exhibition in Qatar, the only navy-oriented defense showcase in the Middle East. Qatar's Peninsula newspaper reported that defense analysts are "saying that market demand for maritime defense in the region is expected to reach more than $30 billion in the next 20 years."

Saudi Arabia is looking for new frigates but it has been buying them from France for decades and is likely to do so again. Like the United Arab Emirates, it has been building up its naval forces over the last two decades from a coastal defense force to one with blue-water capabilities and reach.

Russia's negotiations with France to buy a Mistral-class amphibious assault ship for $540 million-$675 million and then possibly use the technology to build another three in Russia in partnership with warship-builder DCNS of Cherbourg may not exactly be a great pitch for Russian naval builders but it doesn't seem to have dampened Moscow's drive to boost its warship sales.

The Soviet Union's Cold War clients in the region -- Syria, Algeria, Libya and Yemen -- operate naval units from Kilo-class SSK diesel-electric submarines, Polnochy landing craft, Nanuchka-class corvettes and Osa-class missile craft.

Some are so out of date that they cannot be considered operational.