For the past few years, the Russian government has made the unprecedented decision to purchase expensive Western military equipment, in part to fill gaps in Russian defense capabilities, but also to use the threat of foreign competition to induce Russia’s military industrial complex to modernize its means of production and contain its costs.
The most well-known such purchase was the signing in June 2011 of a $1.7 billion contract to buy two French-built Mistral class amphibious assault ships for the Russian navy, with the option to negotiate the purchase of two additional Mistral class ships that would be manufactured in Russian shipyards under French license.
In addition to the Mistral sale, Russia’s Ministry of Defense is buying armored vehicles and helicopter engines from Italy, combat training technologies from Germany and unmanned aerial vehicles from Israel. French products seem particularly in vogue in Moscow, which is also purchasing personal combat systems, thermal tank imagers, light armored infantry kits and vehicles from France. Russia is also reportedly looking to purchase dozens of light helicopters from Eurocopter.