Lightning ..Bibi visits and ..Russia pulls S-400 air and missile defense system off the market

GERTZ:

Russia has decided to withdraw its advanced missile defense system for export.

Officials said the Kremlin has ordered the state-owned arms agency Rosoboronexport to end marketing of the S-400 air and missile defense system. They said Rosoboronexport was told that the S-400 would be deployed only in Russia until further notice.

The S-400. armybase.us

"Russia would consider exports only after meeting the requirements of its own armed forces," Rosoboronexport director Anatoly Isaikin said on Jan. 28.

Over the last five years, Rosoboronexport has sought to sell the S-400 to a range of Middle East states, including Iran, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates. So far, no export sales were reported.

"There are a lot of preliminary talks," Isaikin said.

The S-400 Triumph was designed to intercept airborne targets at up to 400 kilometers. Rosoboronexport has asserted that the system could destroy stealth aircraft, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles.

In 2009, Rosoboronexport lobbied the Turkish government to purchase the S-400. Ankara, which appears to favor the U.S.-origin PAC-3, has conducted a $1 billion tender for the procurement of missile defense systems.

Officials said the Russian military would require at least two years to exploit the potential of the S-400. The first S-400 battalion entered combat duty in the Moscow region in 2007.

"There have been bugs in the system and this has prevented us from properly demonstrating the S-400 abroad," another official said.

The little mouse whispers ... if you buy the PAK-TA and SU-35 we will withhold the S-400 abroad and S-300 from Iran

Related articles by Zemanta

• Russia Successfully Tests Stealth Fighter After Delay (Update2) (businessweek.com)
• 5 more fresh articles...