GERMANY'S SYMBOLIC MOVE - CANCELLED $165M RHEINMETALL RUSSIAN DEFENCE DEAL

Germany just cancelled a defense deal with Russia—who’s next? By Devjyot Ghoshal @DevjyotGhoshal August 5, 2014 As European countries try to balance their economic dependence on Russia with their desire to punish president Vladimir Putin for meddling in Ukraine, Germany has stepped ahead of the pack to poke the bear in the eye, canceling a €123 million ($165 million) defense deal (paywall) with Moscow earlier this week. In response, the Kremlin has said it will sue Rheinmetall, the German defense firm that was to supply parts for a military training facility for the Russian military. The deal, signed in 2012, was suspended by Berlin shortly after the annexation of Crimea in March; this week’s move permanently bars the delivery of the equipment. Last week the European Union banned all arms exports to Russia, but that only covers future deals. Germany’s decision may inspire other European nations to cancel previously agreed defense deals with Moscow. Here are Russia’s other big suppliers in the EU: France Europe’s second-largest arms exporter after Germany is under intense pressure (paywall) to cancel its €1.2 billion ($1.6 billion) deal with Russia for two Mistral-class warships. But the French have a long-standing relationship with Russia, ... Italy Italy sold Russia about €15 million ($21 million) worth of military equipment in 2012—and over €51 million ($69 million) between 2001 and 2012, according to European Union and CAAT data. In 2010, when Russia began to greatly increase defense purchases from Europe (including the order for the French Mistrals), Italian exports soared to €14 million ($19 million), from just about €640,000 ($800,000) the previous year. United Kingdom British prime minister David Cameron has been one of the most vocal European leaders calling for the cancellation of deals with Moscow, calling France’s insistence on delivering warships to Russia “unthinkable.” At the same time, the British prime minister has recently taken heat from parliament to definitively scrap the country’s many arms export licenses to Russia. The UK’s defense exports to Russia, according to EU documents, were worth about €10 million ($13.4 million) in 2012, the most recent year for which figures are available. British exports consisted of small arms, naval vessels and aircraft, and related equipment.  [UK's running out of energy options, by the look of it] Czech Republic Prague has sold Russia planes, ammunition, light weapons, small arms, explosives and more—amounting to about €34 million ($46 million) of exports in the past 10 years. Exports in 2012 were about €5.5 million ($7.3 million), dominated by light transport aircraft and ammunition. As these numbers indicate, Moscow’s military imports from Europe—barring those Mistrals—are mostly small-bore. They certainly pale in comparison with Russia’s own exports worldwide: $13.2 billion in 2013. But Germany’s cancelled deal was meant to be symbolic, and other European governments will likely come under pressure to stand with Berlin. http://qz.com/245193

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Germany cancelled

€123 million ($165 million) defense deal (paywall) with Moscow

Kremlin has said it will sue Rheinmetall, the German defense firm

German's deal is 'symbolic'

Russia does more exporting than it does importing of arms

 

HOLY HELLFIRE BATMAN - US 5000 HELLFIRE AIR-LAND MISSILES TO IRAQ

US to supply Iraq 5000 Hellfire missiles worth $ 700 million July 30, 12:50 UTC+4 WASHINGTON, July 30. / ITAR-TASS /. The US State Department has approved the deal of 5000 Hellfire air-land missiles AGM-114 that the Pentagon will give to Iraq, the Wall Street Journal reported. The total contract amount will be $ 700 million. According to the Pentagon press release, "the missile directly supports the Government of Iraq and serves the interests of the people of Iraq and the United States”. It also noted that "Iraq will use the Hellfire missiles to help improve the Iraq Security Forces’ capability to support current ongoing ground operations." The US Defense Ministry explained that the Iraqi armed forces that already possess rockets of this type should not have problems with their use. All the necessary equipment for missile use and transportation included to the cost. An American aerospace giant Lockheed Martin is the prime contractor for the production and supply of Hellfire missiles. These 5000 rockets have three versions of AGM-114 - K, N and R. http://en.itar-tass.com/world/742845l

Wall Street Journal - here. Iraq ... billions of dollars in deals for fighter jets, helicopters, armored vehicles, radar equipment and munitions. re Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, the U.S. has stepped up surveillance flights over the country, and dispatched more than 700 U.S. forces there Pentagon ... expedited the sale of hundreds of Hellfires, which can be fired from planes and helicopters, to replenish Iraq's stockpile. U.S. has delivered 780 Hellfires to Iraq so far this year, including more than 450 arriving this month. Another 366 are due in August Lockheed formally delivered the first F-16 of a multibillion-dollar order from Iraq for the fighters. [Delivery of]  three more F-16s [due] this  year --  U.S. government yet to formally approve [fly] Harris Corp., the military communications specialist, said Tuesday that it had recently booked an order from Iraq for military radios ... ... part of US effort to [bolster]  the Iraqi military while the Pentagon develops proposals to counter the Islamic State.

While I was reading this, I kept thinking no wonder Assad is so confident.  Then I realised I had the wrong country and that this is IRAQ. 

Oops.  Still can't keep Middle East straight.

What I got out of this is:  war is money and plenty of it.  

As it's a reference to 'deals' and $700 mil, I take it the US isn't giving away weapons -- it's selling them.

From the Itar-Tass article, it looks like it was an all-inclusive deal (ie ancillary equipment and transportation).  

Got to wondering how they're going to pay.  Looks like a poor country.  Whenever you see pics of the Middle East, looks like a barren wasteland.

Check Wikipedia, indicates:

Oil reserves in Iraq are considered the world’s fifth-largest proven oil reserves, with 140 billion barrels

Iraq also has natural gas reserves.

So that's an official 'arms deal', I guess.