Armed vehicles, anti-missile defense, transport planes are popular.
A surge in Ukrainian arms exports this year will further elevate the former Soviet nation in the global arms trading rankings this year, analysts said citing a recent record deal inked with Iraq and export negotiations being held with other countries.
A flurry of arms export deals inked this year appears to have culminated with a whopping $2.5 billion contract with Iraq announced on Dec. 9. The deal, intended to shore up Iraq’s fledgling armed forces before the planned pullout of U.S. troops, is the country’s largest-ever.
Ukrainian officials usually shy away from commenting on arms exports. But, with so much to boast about, officials confirmed the Iraq deal. They said a $550 million contract had already been signed, and that the entire value of near term arms shipments to Iraq could tally in at more than $2 billion.
Ukrainian arms firms will sell 400 armored vehicles and 10 An-32 transport planes to Iraq’s military, Reuters reported, citing Stepan Havrysh, deputy head of the National Security and Defense Council. Meanwhile, Ukrainian daily newspaper Delo reported on Dec. 10 that Kyiv had negotiated a $2.4 billion deal with the Iraqi government, to be financed by the United States.
Anatoly Hrytsenko, head of the Ukrainian parliament’s security and defense committee, told the Associated Press that the agreement with Iraq calls for Ukraine to produce and deliver 420 BTR-4 armored personnel carriers, six AN-32B military transport planes and other military hardware to Iraq. Hrytsenko said the deal also included repair work on two Mi-8T military helicopters for Iraq.
“It is worth around $2.5 billion,” said Hrytsenko, who previously served as Ukraine’s defense minister, after being briefed on the deal on Dec. 9 by state arms exporter UkrSpetsExport. UkrSpetsExport, which is handling the contracts, declined numerous requests for comment on Dec. 9. “The deals have been concluded. They are now formalizing the contracts,” Hrytsenko said. “The contract is to be carried out in stages and, from what I was told, just the first stage is worth some $400 million.”
U.S. President Barack Obama laid out plans to withdraw troops from Iraq and pass security operations in the country back to Iraqi police and armed forces. The United States is providing billions of dollars in military aid to prepare the Iraqis for the task of policing a country still plagued by insurgents and suicide bombings.
The deal will be the largest in Ukraine’s history and will help the nation become one of the top arms dealers in the world this year, said Serhiy Zgurets, head of research at the Center for Army, Conversion and Disarmament Studies, a Kyiv-based think-tank.
Ukraine was a center for arms production in the Soviet Union and remains a major exporter – consistently ranking in the top 10 global arms traders – of armored vehicles, anti-missile defense systems, planes and rockets. Buyers of Ukrainian arms are typically developing countries in Asia, the Middle East and Africa.
The country has exported close to $1 billion in military equipment in recent years. This summer, a source told Interfax-Ukraine news agency that orders had reached some $750 million during the first half of 2009. A $400 million contract to modernize 105 military transport aircraft for India’s air force was touted as the country’s second largest arms export deal since 1996, when Pakistan agreed to pay $650 million for 320 battle tanks.
News of the Iraq contract comes days after Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko announced that Brazil and Libya could soon sign contracts to purchase Ukraine’s Oplot tanks.
