Iran plans to buy Russian copters, fighter engines

MOSCOW:
Moscow and Teheran are in dialogues for the sale of combatant jet plane engines and
helicopters to Iran, the Kommersant day-to-day reported on Monday, citing Russian
arms industry officials. Iran
wants to purchase RD-33 engines for a fleet of new Persian combatant jets, as well as
an upgraded version of the Ka-32 chopper that Teheran desires to be assembled in
Iran, Kommersant said. After a
meeting between Russian and Persian functionaries in Teheran last week, the caput of
Russia's federal agency for military cooperation said any weaponry sold to Islamic Republic Of Iran would be
only for "defensive" purposes, Kommersant reported. The military cooperation
chief, Mikhail Dmitriev, said that defense mechanism neckties between the two countries
"reinforces stableness in the region." Last year, Soviet Union finished
supplying Islamic Republic Of Iran with 29 Tor-M1 air defense mechanism systems under a USD 700-million
agreement.