Russia
will buy more defence technologies of France, Thursday, November 1, 2012,
the Russian Minister of Defense Anatoly Serdyukov has announced in Moscow,
that Russia could purchase the individual combat systems FELIN future
soldier equipment, designed and marketed by the French Company Sagem.
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"We
intend to purchase more systems of Future Soldier equipment FELIN for
the use and study," said M.Serdioukov.
"We need to consider this option and take the decision to manufacture
these products in cooperation with other countries and to see if the products
designs in Russia are satisfactory. We want to make a comparative analysis
to understand which country has made the greatest progress, and to not
create what already exists, "he added.
FELIN (Fantassin à Equipements et Liaisons INtégrés)
for which the French Company Sagem is the prime contractor, is the French
Army’s soldier system. With 22,600 units ordered, it will be put
into service with the French Army in 2010. Fully modular, FELIN can be
used in all combat phases: day, night, offboard and onboard vehicles and
aircraft, etc. It is available in configurations adapted to each operation.
Combat-ready, FELIN complies for use in airborne, urban, desert, wilderness
and high-mountain environments.
Russia is currently testing a Russian-made individual soldier combat system
called "Ratnik" ("warrior" in Russian).
In February 2011, the Russian First Deputy Minister of Defense Vladimir
Popovkin announced that Russia was conducting negotiations with France
for the purchase of FELIN. The General Chief of Staff of the Russian Army
Nikolai Makarov announced later that the Department of Defense had developed
its own system of Future soldier equipment.
Russia and France are not the only countries who create individual combat
systems. Such systems also exist in the United States, Germany, United
Kingdom, Spain, Sweden, Italy and of other countries.
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