Russian-Israeli industrial relations: up in the air?

Russia and Israel signed a long-term military co-operation agreement on 6 September which will - in the words of Russian Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov - provide a "fresh impetus to bilateral relations".

The accord was inked in Moscow during a visit by Serdyukov's Israeli counterpart, former prime minister Ehud Barak.

Details of the content of the accord has proved elusive, given that few details were made public. Russian news information service ITAR-TASS reported, however, that the agreement was a framework agreement spelling out the general directions of future collaboration. ITAR-TASS quoted a Russian defence ministry spokesman who described it as a foundation stone, creating a legal framework for future co-operation of a more specific nature.

It is clear that such a "stem" accord does point to expectations of additional agreements further down the line. Barak - in comments also relayed by ITAR-TASS - raised the issue of anti-terrorism efforts, incorporating - significantly - the use of unmanned aerial systems (UAS).

Greater military technical co-operation is plausible; potentially extending current efforts towards the production of Israeli equipment under licence in Russian or aping Moscow's collaborative efforts with countries such as France and Italy in export markets.