(Moscow Times) Pavel Felgenhauer - Syria already has mid-range ballistic missiles: Soviet-made Scud-Bs with a 300-kilometer range and North Korean-made Scud-C and Scud-D modifications with an extended range. However, the Scuds can miss their target by hundreds or thousands of meters, while the Iskander is reported to have an accuracy of several meters. Russian traders and producers desperately hope to make a ballistic missile export breakthrough in a market that has been dominated by the North Koreans since 1991. There are several semiofficial entities in Russia that can negotiate and deliver almost any modern weapon while the authorities turn a blind eye, provided the buyer has the cash. Since 1998, the Tula-based KBP arms factory has sold Syria up to a thousand updated Kornet-E guided antitank missiles. The Pentagon alleged that some of the missiles were smuggled into Iraq and used against Allied forces. The latest Russian-Israeli missile crisis once again highlights the issue of who (if anyone) really controls the export of sensitive technologies and weapons from Russia.
2005-01-18 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive