MOSCOW. May 17 (Interfax-AVN) - The state defense procurement plan for 2012 does not include the acquisition of Israeli drones, Governmental Military Industrial Commission First Deputy Chairman Yuri Borisov said.
"There is no such item on the state defense procurement plan and the Defense Ministry has not made such requests," he said in comment on media reports claiming the drafting of a new contract to buy 24 Israeli drones for $53 million.
The Russian Defense Ministry said earlier that foreign weapons will be purchased in small batches for studying their parameters and learning new technologies.
Russia has bought 14 drones from the Israeli company IAI, including Bird Eye 400 mini-drones (with a takeoff weight of 5 kilograms and range of operation of 10 kilometers), tactical I-View MK150 (160 kilograms, 100 kilometers) and medium-weight Searcher MKII (426 kilograms, 250 kilometers) with the total cost of $53 million.
The United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) agreed to start assembling drones in Tatarstan. The deal costs approximately $400 million.