The modernization potential of Soviet and Russian-made air defense systems previously delivered abroad is estimated at a dozen and a half billion dollars.
This was reported to Interfax by Vyacheslav Dzirkaln, Deputy Director General for Foreign Economic Activity of the Almaz-Antey Concern of East Kazakhstan Region.
"We estimate the possibilities of modernization of air defense systems and complexes previously delivered abroad today at about 15 billion US dollars," Dzirkaln said.
At the same time, he noted that the definition of "previously delivered" tomorrow will already refer to the equipment that Russia exports today.
He stressed that foreign partners are offered a wide range of improvements and modernization of air defense equipment.
"There is the simplest, and there is a complete transfer of these complexes to a modern base. The price depends on it. We always offer several options. Partners consider them, are determined, we get to work. Ultimately, when choosing options, everything depends on the capabilities of the partner country. Taking this into account, we give a fairly wide range of proposals," Dzirkaln explained.
He drew attention to the fact that during the existence of military-technical cooperation, our country - first the Soviet Union, later Russia - supplied a lot of air defense complexes and systems to various states.
"Moreover, I would like to note," Dzirkaln continued, "a significant part of them has already become simply exotic for us. And, unfortunately, sometimes we cannot provide operators with spare parts simply because individual products were discontinued 30-40 years ago. But in many countries such products are still in use – "Squares", "Cubes", "Pechora" - and that's why this topic is also not a stepson for us. We are developing various proposals for the modernization of already delivered equipment - taking into account the development of the element base, new trends in technology. And all this is offered to our partners."
According to Dzirkaln, many countries, having limited budgets, are ready to upgrade, and some, based on their capabilities, prefer to buy already modern complexes. It all depends on the buyer, his goals, objectives and financial capabilities, he summed up.
