Why China Snubs Russia Arms

The Diplomat ^ | April 5, 2010 | Richard Weitz

[myknowledge]

Last week, Russia delivered 15 additional batteries of S-300 surface-to-air missiles to China, making good on an about 2 billion dollar deal signed in the mid-2000s. Yet despite the publicity surrounding the sale, the Russian-Chinese arms transfer relationship is in trouble.

Recent years have seen a precipitous fall in Chinese purchases of Russian military equipment and technologies. Whereas until a few years ago Beijing was buying large quantities of Moscow’s surplus Soviet-era military products, during the past few years the Chinese have declined to purchase any major weapons systems from Russia.

China has already acquired about a dozen S-300 batteries from Russia under contracts signed in previous years. But the S-300 is a Soviet-era air defence system, with each battery consisting of four truck-mounted launchers each holding four missile tubes. And, although the late-model versions of the S-300 (dubbed ‘The Favourite’ by Russians) delivered a few days ago are highly capable, the Russian military is phasing out the system’s use. Russian units are replacing it with the more effective S-400 (code-named ‘Triumph’ by NATO), which has additional capabilities against stealthy targets as well as some ballistic missiles. Meanwhile, Russia’s defence industry is now developing an even more advanced surface-to-air missile system, the S-500, which is potentially capable of intercepting targets in outer space flying at hypersonic speeds of five kilometres a second.

[myknowledge]

Chengdu J-7E

Chengdu J-10

Shenyang J-11

Type 99 MBT

Yuan class SSK

WZ-551 APC

Type 052 Luyang class DDG

Norinco QBZ-95 assault rifle.

CAIC WZ-10

[dr_who]

Don't worry. These aren't real people. This is a shipment of Thunderbird action figures.

[grey_whiskers]

*PING*

[aruanan]

I don't know if this picture is Chinese in origin. I do know, however, that several of these guys are spitting images of Chinese friends of mine.

[onedoug]

Competing commies.

[TigerLikesRooster]

Hmm... Chicom is now doing to Russia what they did to Western corporations. Import their products and share technology, coming up with their own cheaper copy and taking away those corporation's market share. Startin with domestic markets.

Now world will have overcapacity of conventional weapons, half of which could be from China.

There is an age-old way of eliminating surplus weapons. Using them against one another. However, millions will perish. All this is happening in the midst of the worst economic crisis in several decades. This is a deadly mix.

[lentulusgracchus]

Import their products and share technology, coming up with their own cheaper copy and taking away those corporation's market share. Startin with domestic markets.

Well, no. The newer systems are not being imported. That's the point of the article. Falling-out over copying? The Chinese co-produce the Almaz S-300 PMU/SA-10/SA-N-6 "Grumble" under license.

The Russian MKB Fakel S-300 PMU2 "Favorit" was not part of the deal. That is the missile that supposedly can intercept hypersonic targets travelling at 6000 mph and altitudes up to 100,000'.

The Almaz/Fakel S-400 "Triumf"/SA-20 is a smaller missile compatible with the launchers used for the S-300/SA-10 system, with the advantage that a container/launcher holding 4 of the S-400 can be loaded into a single tube of the four-tube S-300/SA-10 erector-launcher. Systems integration and interoperability have been built in. This is an extremely potent missile system with performance claimed up to the limits of the ABM Treaty and an effective range of about 70 miles, compared to (d/o variant) 90-120 miles for the original S-300PMU/SA-10.

The discontinuation of production of the older, 90's models of the SA-10 series was prompted by Russian defense retrenchment during the later 90's.

Cold link:

http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/russia/airdef/s-400.htm

http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/russia/airdef/s-300pmu.htm

[gogogodzilla]

I think China isn’t buying Russian military goods because:

1. they’ve reverse engineered it

2. they’ve improved on the originals

3. can build it cheaper and with a better quality than Russia

[sickoflibs]

Good article!

[TigerLikesRooster]

The newer systems are not being imported

According to this article, Russian won't sell them because China will make fairly close copy or some little better, and market them overseas.

[myknowledge]

Much like what they did with the Su-27 Flanker air superiority fighter. The Chicoms started building their own version, the Shenyang J-11B, with advanced indigenous avionics, and improved it to the point where it reaches that of the Su-35BM Flanker-E.

Same thing with the S-300PMU-1 (SA-20A Gargoyle) area-defense SAM system. They developed the HQ-9 and augmented a radar control system based on that of the Patriot. Now they're contemplating on exporting it to third world clients, such as Pakistan,, to bolster their air defense nets.

[Tallguy]

Correct. China isn't going to buy anything that they can't produce themselves. On the things that they DO buy they will want licensing & co-production agreements so that they can go into immediate development of a domestic-version. And they are also not above an out-and-out rip-off of foreign technogy where they don't have the rights to produce or re-sell their own make.

Russia is being take to the technological cleaners.

[dragonblustar]

Correct. China isn't going to buy anything that they can't produce themselves.

I have to wonder if their products they make for themselves are better than the crap they send to the States?