Eagle? Strike-2 1E？ make one's debut
In the 1980s, Saudi Arabia's purchase of Dongfeng III was always talked about by the outside world. This high-value and mature transaction is a true legend. However, for a long time, there was not much cooperation between the two sides in the military field. On the one hand, China's military industry did not perform well in equipment export at that time, and even relied heavily on Russian-made weapons. The top of the Saudi army is naturally ugly. On the other hand, the United States, relying on the prestige of a total victory in the Gulf War, has provoked wars in the Middle East one after another, and its deterrence against the surrounding areas has reached an unprecedented height. Therefore, the cooperation between Saudi Arabia and China in the military field mainly focuses on the follow-up maintenance and spare parts supply of Dongfeng III. After 20 10 years, with the rapid development of AVIC, the potential of military drones is obvious, and the two sides have started a new contact stage.
Rainbow -4 is the iconic model of Rainbow Series.
Military drones were developed in the 1980s, but the cost performance was not high at that time, and only the United States and the Soviet Union were equipped with some. After entering the 2 1 century, thanks to the progress of airborne precision guided bombs, satellite navigation/positioning systems and remote control systems, military drones officially entered the battlefield. Because the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) has low requirements for materials and power devices, the technical difficulties mainly lie in software and electronic components, which conform to the technical characteristics of AVIC, so it is rapidly popularized in China, and "Rainbow" and "Pterosaur" are born. Represented by the classic reconnaissance drone. Compared with the high-altitude strategic reconnaissance and high-altitude reconnaissance drones developed by the United States at that time, Rainbow and Pterosaur were more balanced in performance and more reasonable in price, which met the needs of ordinary countries, so he quickly obtained orders from many countries including Saudi Arabia.
Pterosaur II and Rainbow IV are also located very close.
The number of China military drones purchased by Saudi Arabia is difficult to verify. It can only be said that there are about 500 sets (the value should be around $2 billion). Saudi Arabia not only armed its troops with purchased drones, but also handed them over to Libyan tribes receiving aid. A classic scene of "Rainbow IV" against Turkish TB-2 was staged. With a good start, coupled with the rapid development of China's military industry and the gradual withdrawal of US troops from Iraq and Afghanistan, the cooperation between the two sides will naturally go further. Saudi Arabia publicly stated that the "Silent Hunter" laser air defense system purchased from China successfully achieved the first actual combat results. This is also the first laser weapon in the world that has achieved practical results. Due to the limited information released by Saudi Arabia, it is difficult for the outside world to draw detailed conclusions, but what is certain is that China weapons are no longer the representative of low cost and low performance in the traditional impression, but can act as the main force and even lead the trend. Equipment. The silent hunter realized by Saudi Arabia is impressive. The actual experience is good and the technology is really novel. Under the superposition of various factors, the military cooperation between the two countries has further deepened. At the Zhuhai Air Show, it was rumored that Saudi Arabia purchased nearly $4 billion of China's various equipment, mainly including: expanding the types and scale of UAV procurement, greatly increasing the "Silent Hunter" laser air defense system and the dazzling eagle Xi -2 1E (also the most expensive). Of the three, the first two belong to the further deepening of existing projects, so there is nothing to say. Eagle Strike 2 1E looks like an anti-ship weapon, but it is actually a modern evolution of Dongfeng III. After all, its predecessor was land-based Dongfeng 2 1 ballistic missile. China exported this long-undisclosed core weapon, not only because Saudi Arabia paid a high price, but also because the latter urgently needed this new strategic weapon to maintain deterrence. To a large extent, in China, in order to maintain the relationship between the two sides, this weapon was quickly pushed to the export booth. No international buyers are expected to buy the remaining properties in the short term.
It is rumored that Saudi Arabia purchased TB-00 1 UAV.
Therefore, although the order from Saudi Arabia at Zhuhai Air Show is expensive and high-tech, it has not exceeded the previous cooperation scope between the two parties, and the equipment application field is relatively independent and does not involve a large area. -Large-scale replacement of other equipment. Knowing this clearly, we can judge the recent rumors that Saudi Arabia bought China weapons. First of all, KJ-200 is impossible. There is no communication channel between the early warning aircraft and the Saudi active aircraft. Even if Saudi Arabia intends to purchase a batch of Xiaolong for special purposes, KJ-500 or even ZDK-03 is a better choice. The possibility of 052D and army brigade equipment is slightly higher than that of KJ-200, but it can still be ignored. Saudi Arabia never intended to develop a huge navy. Twelve or six 052D ships will completely change the balance of regional naval forces. This is intolerable to the US Navy. The equipment of the army brigade-level organization is similar to that of 052D, with little difference.
KJ-200 cannot be exported to Saudi Arabia.
The ground-based advanced anti-stealth radar has the highest realization probability among many rumors, mainly because the US military can't provide similar equipment (China ranks first in this field at present). Moreover, because Saudi Arabia is aiming at the only target in this respect, a small number of radars and auxiliary units can independently monitor a small number of stealth fighters in a specific area. This purely defensive equipment is unlikely to cause a wave of opposition and an arms race in the region. There is indeed some hope that it can be realized, and once it is realized, it will be another big bill of one billion dollars. From the historical experience, as long as the scope of military cooperation between the two sides continues to expand and China's influence continues to increase, it is only a matter of time before China weapons become the main force of the Saudi army. This is an objective law that is independent of individual will. By then, "China is the core force of world peace" will become a very attractive famous saying.