Russians, "Politically Correct" South Africans Vie for African Arms Trade
World Socialist Website
Posted March 12, 2008 |
Geopolitical realities notwithstanding, both black-infused South Africa arms
industry and revisionist Russian arms corporations are heading to "tilt" in
the growing African arms trade. Not a rumor of this in the news, of course.
But the public relations and advertising forces of these two nations are
already locked in hand to hand combat. Literally no prisoners taken, here.
South Africa has changed names but not games: its official arms industry
group, tagged "Armscor," has been arming smaller nations worldwide for decades.
Formed as a kind of official hybrid mated from good, white, business savvy
Afrikaners, and the once apartheid government of the huge country, Armscor has
added a tremendous and perhaps insurmountable advantage in dealing with black,
majority rule Africa... its managers and sales force are about one third
black themselves.
Chaired by Dr. P.S. Molefe, "Armscor" has decided that the color of money.
whether rand or Euro, or dollar...trumps political and racial ideology. It is
developing a niche for its Rooivalk attack helicopter, and the Rooivalk is a
great sell for any African country. More and more, African nations are facing
insurgency forces chumming around savannah and jungle with products being
modernized by a competitor. These products happen to be the ZSU antiaircraft
machine guns developed by the former Soviet regime in Russia. And the competitor
happens to be the Russian trading and corporate conglomerate
"Rosoboronexport State Corporation." New times, new friends. Old enemies. Good money.
"Rosoboron," for short, sells updates for the ZU-23 dual and quad series of
antiaircraft heavy machineguns. The ZU-23 and its progeny...a very prodigious
and fertile family which has been shooting down American, French, British and
South African aircraft for about forty years, was a low-tech but amenable
weapon system. The weapon itself fires the heavy hitting 23mm. round, which
formerly had great problems penetrating improved armor on modern helicopters.
American flyers in the Vietnam War gave a grudging respect for the weapon,
which made up for lack of radar control by sheer volume or "weight of shell." It
was durable, it was lethal and... worse of all... it was cheap, which meant
that piss-poor nations like North Vietnam stocked up on them like a fat kid
stocks up on dark chocolates. But new helicopters sold by every modern nation
have tougher armor which defeated the old rounds.
But not to worry. Rosoboron will not only refurbish and clean up the ZU-23
barrels (from two to four, to six on other mountings), but also arm them with
special armor-defeating rounds. These pass through most, if not all, armors
for a reasonable cost. All of this from their official website at
www.rusarm.ru, and the catalog which they proudly burnish. Truth be told, the formerly
frontline majority rule states of Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Angola possess tens
of thousands of these weapons. It just so happens that the "Rooivalk" would
be a perfect target for the new, updated weapons. As you learned in biology
class, when a better pitcher is evolved, so will a Joe DiMaggio evolve to balk
his pitching.
Rosoboron's added thrills for barely surviving and homicidal nations must
also be noted: according to press releases issued by Rosoboron, and their press
release of Feb. 16, 2008, African nations wanting a good deal on a Rooivalk
type helicopter gunship can buy a Mi-35 transport helicopter, a MI-17 assault
helicopter (an up-armored "Huey" type helicopter) and a MI-28 NE attack
helicopter. The press release mentions other products to be shown off at an
Indian arms exhibition. It does not mention that the ZU-23 family as upgraded by
Rosoboron's experts will also shoot down these Russians helicopters, but that's
a story left best for another day. And another sale.
**************It's Tax Time! Get tips, forms, and advice on AOL Money &
Finance. (http://money.aol.com/tax?NCID=aolprf00030000000001)
いいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいい
To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface
at: http://listserv.icors.org/archives/gambia-l.html
To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?S1=gambia-l
To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to:
[log in to unmask]
いいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいい
|