The escalation of civil unrest in Kharkiv, Luhansk and Donetsk and other parts of southeastern Ukraine may spell trouble for China's arms procurement because the region is where Ukraine designs and produces advanced weapons for both domestic and overseas markets, reports the Global Times, a tabloid under the auspices of the Communist Party mouthpiece People's Daily.
According to state-owned conglomerate Ukroboronprom — also known as the Ukrainian Defense Industry — the country's intercontinental ballistic missiles, tactical ballistic missiles, and radar and avionic systems are mostly designed in Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk, while the cities of Kharkiv and Luhansk are production hubs for main battle tanks such as the T-34, T-64, T-80UD, and other types of armored vehicles. In addition, military aircraft engines are mostly designed and produced in the southeastern city of Zaporizhia.
The current pro-Russian civil unrest in Ukraine will likely slow down the development of Chinese helicopters, trainers, radars and tanks, according to the Canada-based Kanwa Defense Review operated by military analyst Andrei Chang or Pinkov. The report said that China is reliant on AI-222 engines produced by the Zaporizhia-based Motor Sich Public Joint Stock Company to complete the development of its L-15 trainer.
The 6TD-2 diesel engine produced by Kharkiv Morozov Machine Building Design Bureau in Kharkiv is also crucial for China to develop the MBT-2000 main battle tank of the People's Liberation Army, Kanwa said.
Despite the ongoing crisis, a Chinese military expert told the Global Times on Apr. 14 that the civil unrest in Ukraine will not bring major changes to the military exchanges between the two nations in the short term. He added however that some uncertainties may arise in the long term.
http://www.wantchinatimes.com/news-subclass-cnt.aspx?id=20140417000136&cid=1101&MainCatID=0
No comments:
Post a Comment