Russia May Buy $12 Billion of Arms From NATO Members

Russia may buy $12 billion of arms from European and Israeli companies, including DCNS and Iveco SpA, over the next five years as the world’s second-biggest arms exporter hunts for higher-quality weapons than domestic companies can provide, according to a Moscow research institute.

“Russia has been an exception on military procurement, because no other country in the last 15 years tried to be 100 percent autonomous,” said center Director Ruslan Pukhov. “Now we have recognized that you can’t be competitive in all areas.”

While the military has always purchased some weapons from abroad, the search for overseas suppliers increased after the five-day war with Georgia in 2008 revealed weaknesses in Russian technology, Pukhov said.

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