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OLD MISSILES TURNED OUT TO BE YOUNG
by Svetlana Gamova
DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
October 10, 2011 Monday
THE ENDING OF THE SCANDAL RELATED TO THE AIRPLANE FROM LIBYA THAT
TRANSPORTED MISSILES FROM MOLDOVA TO ARMENIA WAS AS LOUD AS ITS
BEGINNING; Mass media of Chisinau published a new list of the Moldovan
armament sold to Armenia. Contrary to assurances of the Moldovan
officials, they turned out to be not outmoded but quite combat capable.
Mass media of Chisinau published a new list of the sold Moldovan
armament. Contrary to assurances of the Moldovan officials, they
turned out to be not outmoded but quite combat capable.
Journalists understood that not everything was in order with the
"Libyan airplane" at the very start when it landed in the airport
of the Moldovan capital on September 12. First, this was a military
airplane and it arrived from Benghazi second, it flew to the military
airport in Marculesti almost immediately and departed from there
being loaded.
The Defense Ministry of Moldova explained afterwards that armament
with expired service life was onboard. According to the ministry,
the cargo was addressed to "one Latvian company" registered in Riga
that was not named due to the reason of "commercial secrecy." However,
there appeared new information: Defense Minister of Moldova Vitalie
Marinuta reported in the parliament, although without disclosure of
commercial secrets, that the armament was intended for Armenia. Then
the Foreign Ministry of Azerbaijan invited Ambassador of Moldova
in Baku Igor Bodiu to provide explanations. After the meeting with
representatives of the Azerbaijani authorities he announced that the
loud deal with the Moldovan armament supplied to Armenia was nothing
more than a "sad mistake" that nonetheless "brought an unpleasant
aspect to our bilateral relations." Expert of the Geneva center for
democratic control over armed forces Viorel Cibotaru confirmed that
the armament was sold to Armenia. Cibotaru also said that the deal
was legitimate and the cargo included missiles.
In any case, it seems that the government will have to explain to
the government and the public why the armament has been sold to a
zone with a frozen conflict. OMEGA agency also reported referring
to its source in the Ministry of Economy that the difference between
the value of the contract and the market price of the sold armament
was not less than $5 million. This meant that the products were sold
cheaply. According to the agency, the secretly sold lot included some
of the most expensive armament models of the national army. Among them
were control and checking systems 9V862 and 9V863 of Cobra missiles,
as well as 9V871-3 for antitank missile systems Konkurs-M. The market
price of each of these systems exceeds $60,000. The lot also included
thousands of missiles Fagot, Konkurs, Shturm-S and Metis. The market
value of only these specifications of the sold armament exceeds $5
million. Besides these types of armament the contract also included
launchers for antitank missiles that, according to the document of
the Defense Ministry, were also sold at an obviously undervalued price.
by Svetlana Gamova
DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
October 10, 2011 Monday
THE ENDING OF THE SCANDAL RELATED TO THE AIRPLANE FROM LIBYA THAT
TRANSPORTED MISSILES FROM MOLDOVA TO ARMENIA WAS AS LOUD AS ITS
BEGINNING; Mass media of Chisinau published a new list of the Moldovan
armament sold to Armenia. Contrary to assurances of the Moldovan
officials, they turned out to be not outmoded but quite combat capable.
Mass media of Chisinau published a new list of the sold Moldovan
armament. Contrary to assurances of the Moldovan officials, they
turned out to be not outmoded but quite combat capable.
Journalists understood that not everything was in order with the
"Libyan airplane" at the very start when it landed in the airport
of the Moldovan capital on September 12. First, this was a military
airplane and it arrived from Benghazi second, it flew to the military
airport in Marculesti almost immediately and departed from there
being loaded.
The Defense Ministry of Moldova explained afterwards that armament
with expired service life was onboard. According to the ministry,
the cargo was addressed to "one Latvian company" registered in Riga
that was not named due to the reason of "commercial secrecy." However,
there appeared new information: Defense Minister of Moldova Vitalie
Marinuta reported in the parliament, although without disclosure of
commercial secrets, that the armament was intended for Armenia. Then
the Foreign Ministry of Azerbaijan invited Ambassador of Moldova
in Baku Igor Bodiu to provide explanations. After the meeting with
representatives of the Azerbaijani authorities he announced that the
loud deal with the Moldovan armament supplied to Armenia was nothing
more than a "sad mistake" that nonetheless "brought an unpleasant
aspect to our bilateral relations." Expert of the Geneva center for
democratic control over armed forces Viorel Cibotaru confirmed that
the armament was sold to Armenia. Cibotaru also said that the deal
was legitimate and the cargo included missiles.
In any case, it seems that the government will have to explain to
the government and the public why the armament has been sold to a
zone with a frozen conflict. OMEGA agency also reported referring
to its source in the Ministry of Economy that the difference between
the value of the contract and the market price of the sold armament
was not less than $5 million. This meant that the products were sold
cheaply. According to the agency, the secretly sold lot included some
of the most expensive armament models of the national army. Among them
were control and checking systems 9V862 and 9V863 of Cobra missiles,
as well as 9V871-3 for antitank missile systems Konkurs-M. The market
price of each of these systems exceeds $60,000. The lot also included
thousands of missiles Fagot, Konkurs, Shturm-S and Metis. The market
value of only these specifications of the sold armament exceeds $5
million. Besides these types of armament the contract also included
launchers for antitank missiles that, according to the document of
the Defense Ministry, were also sold at an obviously undervalued price.