Russia intends to strengthen its presence in Africa's lucrative and fast-growing arms market. This is written by The National Interest columnist Mark Episkopos, referring to news reports about the preparation of a new amphibious armored personnel carrier "Strela" for the exhibition ShieldAfrica 2021.
The International Salon will be held in Ivory Coast in early June. Among the 145 exhibitors, the Russian "Military-Industrial Company" will also be represented, which will show samples of armored vehicles "MIC-Ural", "Tiger" in the "Raid" version and the amphibious "Strela" in various modifications.
The Strela family of six multi-purpose maneuverable light armored vehicles was demonstrated for the first time at the Army 2020 forum. The waterfowl variant can carry up to 800 kilograms of payload, can reach speeds of up to 120 kilometers per hour on land and up to seven km / h in water, and its range reaches 1 thousand kilometers. The vehicle has a modular layout-the elements can be interchanged with other armored vehicles. In addition, according to the developers, the "Arrow" is characterized by functionality and ease of maintenance, since it can use spare parts from commercial vehicles.
- Thanks to its cost-effectiveness, modularity and simplified repair process, the Strela amphibious vehicle can make a splash in the African arms markets. In addition, the car can be transported on some models of military helicopters, including the popular Mi-8, which is still widely used in Africa, - the observer notes.
The demonstration of Strela at ShieldAfrica 2021, adds Episkopos, is also dictated by the desire of the Russian defense industry to diversify its export portfolio of weapons - currently, helicopters, fighter jets, tanks and various types of ammunition are supplied to African countries.
In general, as of 2020, Rosoboronexport accounted for 49 percent of arms imports to the African continent. The two biggest buyers historically are Algeria and Egypt, with deliveries starting in Nigeria, Tanzania and Cameroon in recent years. In addition, in addition to direct sales, Russia is studying the possibility of organizing production on the territory of Angola.
"Thus, over the past two decades, the Russian military-industrial complex has significantly expanded its presence in comparison with France and the United States, which used to be the largest players in the African market," the expert concluded.
Timur Alimov
