NOW 11 COMPANIES HAVE THE RIGHT TO EXPORT ARMAMENT INDEPENDENTLY

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The list of defense companies having the right to export military products grew by four. On October 14, chair of the committee for military technological cooperation and Deputy Defense Minister Mikhail Dmitriev signed the relevant resolution. The relevant licenses were officially given to representatives of the companies in the office of the council on October 18. According to Dmitriev, implementation of the new scheme of military technological cooperation is a long process, depending on how quickly the integrated military industrial holdings are established. Along with this, Dmitriev explains that the matter is about a new policy line “that radically changes military technological cooperation.”

Until recently there were seven companies in Russia having the right for military technological cooperation with foreign countries. These were Rosoboronexport, Machine Building Design Bureau (Kolomna), Instrument Building Design Bureau (Tula), Russian Airplane Building Corporation MiG, Rubin Central Design Bureau and Antey Air Defense Corporation (with regard to Antey it is necessary to add that the export license of Antey has expired, and the new Almaz-Antey Air Defense Corporation is being organized on its basis). According to Dmitriev, in 2001 all these companies sold armament and combat materiel worth a record sum of $4.4 billion.

New players of the military technological cooperation market have the right to export not the finished military products but only spare parts, training and auxiliary equipment for the previously exported armament and combat materiel and services of maintenance and repair of such products. This right is granted to the Pribor Federal Research and Production Center (close-range weapons production), Salyut Moscow Machine Building Enterprise (aircraft engines), Rubin Central Maritime Design Bureau (naval equipment) and Sukhoi Aviation Production Corporation (airplanes of the Su series). Many experts predict that in 2003, after introduction of the new scheme for export of spare parts, turnover of the Russian armament exports may grow by one-third. Nikolai Yenderukov, director of the PR service of the committee for military technological cooperation, reported to WPS that the aforementioned companies were already included into the register of organizations having the right to export military products. According to Yenderukov, broadening of the list of armament exporters will allow acceleration of the process of foreign trade deals fulfillment and respectively a quicker reaction to inquiries and demands of partners in the military technological cooperation.

According to the committee for military technological cooperation, the special list of the companies to which the chair of the committee may permit exporting of spare parts for armaments and services of its maintenance includes at least 50 companies. This special list of exporters is approved by the relevant presidential decree of September 16. The PR service of the committee explained to WPS that the choice of the companies for issue of permits for export of spare parts started immediately after making of the corresponding decision by the commission for military technological cooperation during its meeting on October 3 chaired by President Putin. The scheme for work with such companies will be improved in the future. At any rate, it is already known that the decision on signing of contracts for maintenance and repair of armament will be up to the committee for military technological cooperation and the federal defense agencies. What is most important, emphasize representatives of the committee, the procedure of spare parts export will be seriously simplified and accelerated. It is known that now the committee makes approximately a half of armament export decisions. Representatives of the committee report that over the last two years not only the speed of approval of armament export contracts has been improved, but also the document turnover has been reduced.

However, the spokesperson for the committee denied reports of some mass media about an alleged oncoming increase in the number of companies having the right for independent export of final products.

Chair of the committee Dmitriev does not rule out that when new integrated military industrial holdings are established the number of players of military technological cooperation market will grow, and the volume and scale of operations of Rosoboronexport as the state intermediary in arms trade will decrease. However, this will not happen earlier than between 2005 and 2007.

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