OREANDA-NEWS. March 29, 2010. From 29 to 31 March the Doha Exhibition Center, Qatar, will be hosting the 2nd International Maritime Defense Exhibition & Conference (DIMDEX 2010). The event attracts around 130 exhibitors from 35 countries. Rosoboronexport’s display presenting data on the best export models of Russian naval armaments and equipment occupies a respected position among the participants.

Russia was and remains one of the world’s largest shipbuilding powers. Its shipbuilding industry can design and build any combatant ships and auxiliary vessels, as well as manufacture all kinds of naval weaponry and equipment.

In the intervening half century since Russia's naval export supplies began, more than 2,000 surface combatants, submarines, missile and patrol boats, support vessels as well as naval armaments have been exported.

Naval hardware has accounted for 10 to 14 percent of Rosoboronexport’s total exports in the recent two years.

The domestic shipbuilding industry’s export order book is currently comparable to state defense order. Building new ships for Russia's Navy is an ace in the hole to attract potential foreign customers.

Rosoboronexport puts high emphasis on meeting the real needs and desires of potential buyers of Russian weapons. Such a policy has helped the Company substantially widen the “geography” of its naval deliveries. This involves new regions, including the Arab arms markets. Collaboration with traditional strategic partners continues as well.

License construction of Russian-designed ships at foreign shipyards together with their related supplies of ship equipment and armaments occupies a separate place.

Russian design bureaus have great capabilities for the development of new ship projects on order from foreign partners or for joint design efforts with foreign shipbuilders. At present, Russia can offer baseline ship projects of all classes for such cooperation - from heavy aircraft carriers to small patrol craft and auxiliary vessels.

Naval hardware is considered among the most sophisticated and high-tech equipment. And although Rosoboronexport’s primary mission is to promote Russian companies’ products to foreign markets, it is difficult to meet the world standards today, avoiding international cooperation.

Rosoboronexport actively promotes also such a service as the service maintenance of exported ships and support of their daily and combat activities. This is achieved through establishing the whole onshore infrastructure for ship basing, repair and maintenance, storage and preparation of weapons and ammunition for use, training of naval specialists on state-of-art simulators.

The Company renders technical assistance in conducting any repair and upgrade of previously delivered surface ships, submarines, boats, their armament and equipment, both at Russian and national shipyards.

Rosoboronexport offers its foreign partners more than 50 projects of combatant ships, submarines and boats - from 8000-ton missile destroyers to patrol boats and midget submarines.

Among the export “order” of domestic submarines and surface ships, the world-known Project 636 “silent” diesel-electric submarines carrying the Club-S missile system and a family of small coastal submarines developed around the Piranha project are Russia’s pride.

The key feature of the Project 636 submarine is its capability to deliver powerful salvo missile strikes against underwater, surface and ground targets. Its ammunition load includes missiles, general-purpose torpedoes and mines. The Project 636 submarine can effectively accomplish combat missions in every part of the oceans of the world, both in shallow and deep waters. Its systems provide reliable operation in tropical areas and comfort conditions for the crew.

Russia offers also large surface combatants, including Project 11356, 11541 and Gepard 3.9 class frigates, multifunction corvettes and Project  12061E Murena landing boats.

Traditionally, Russia has been the largest exporter of missile and patrol craft. Russian shipbuilders exported twice as many combatant boats as Britain, France, Sweden, Norway, Spain and Italy together as early as the 1960s-90s.

Project 12418 missile boat, as well as Project 12150 Mangust, Project 12200 Sobol, Project 14310 Mirazh, Project 10412 Svetlyak fast patrol boats are rightfully considered among the best in the world. This was appreciated by Rosoboronexport’s long-standing partners. Thus, Project 12200 Sobol patrol boat, designed for protection of the territorial waters, patrol service, examination of ships, police and customs operations, is unrivalled worldwide. Its high speed and excellent seaworthiness have been achieved through a system of automatically controlled flaps, enabling an increase in its speed by 6 to 9 knots, a 2-2.5-fold reduction in rolling amplitude and a 1.2-1.5-fold reduction in pitching amplitude.

Project 12150 Mangust fast patrol boat moves at up to 50 knots and can intercept almost any high-speed surface targets, while its organic armament includes a 14.5-mm naval pedestal machine gun mount.

Along with export of submarines and surface ships, Rosoboronexport offers its partners naval weapons, equipment, various systems for installation on ships being built at foreign customers’ shipyards. The excellent performance of Russian strike missile systems like Moskit-E, Club, Yakhont, and Uran-E, high efficiency of air defense missile, artillery and ASW armaments, radar systems, EW equipment, reconnaissance, communications and control systems are recognized around the world.