Russia buys Israel bespilotnikov to $ 50 million.

The first deal to acquire Israel-bespilotnikov aircraft for the Russian army will be about $ 50 million, half the amount has already been transferred, writes the newspaper Kommersant on 7 April.
For the money the Russian Ministry of Defense will acquire three of the near-and medium-range production of the Israeli state company Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI). The first of these Bird-Eye 400 has a lot of flying 5-kg and a range of - 10 km. Second I-View MK150 - to 160 kilograms and 100 kilometers, while the third Searcher Mk II - 426 kilograms and 250 kilometers.
The deal is likely to be only the beginning of military-technical cooperation with Israel in this area, because according to experts, the Russian army should be from 50 to 100 bespilotnikov different classes and not less than ten complexes.
For the first time, the intention to procure bespilotniki in Israel in November 2008, said a member of the Duma Committee on Defense, Mikhail Musatov, referring to the Chief of General Staff Nikolai Makarov. Subsequently, however, this information several times refuted.
Selecting Foreign bespilotnikov due to the fact that Russian developers have not been able to create them with a competitive alternative. According to the newspaper, during the war in South Ossetia, the Russian army in combat conditions tested several of the military bespilotnikov, but none of them was able to completely fulfill its task. According to Lieutenant-General Vladimir Shamanov, Russian developers are not responding to the needs of the troops, and therefore should not be surprised procurement of foreign technology.
However, experts point out that Russia does not buy Israeli heavy bespilotnikov with a range up to thousands of miles away, where the greatest need. This may be due to the efforts of United States that Israel could not allow the sale of aircraft of this class.