By the mid-1950s the export of Soviet arms expanded into the Middle East and were immediately sent to war. Forming the backbone of, amongst others, the air forces of Iraq and Syria, Soviet aircraft were involved in major conflicts such as the Suez Crisis, the Six-Day and Yom Kippur Wars, the Iran-Iraq War, the First and Second Gulf Wars and, more recently, the civil war in Syria. Mikoyan MiG-15 and MiG-29 fighters, Sukhoi Su-7 and Su-22 fighter-bombers, Su-24MK tactical bombers, Su-25 attack aircraft, Mil' Mi-8/Mi-17 and Mi-24/25/35 helicopters, Antonov An-12, and Il'yushin Il-76 transports all played their parts in the region's conflicts. Wars which included Egyptian and Iranian forces also took place entirely in the Middle East and full details of both forces using genuine Soviet types (obtained either from Russia or from Iraq) and their Chinese derivatives are examined. Arranged by country and using previously classified sources, "Soviet and Russian Military Aircraft in the Middle East" includes details of combat use and comprehensive fleet lists of all known Soviet/Russian military aircraft. Highly illustrated with over 375 photographs, national insignia and over 150 color profiles the book forms an invaluable reference for modellers, enthusiasts and aviation historians alike.

From the outset, the export of revolution and Communist ideology had been one of the cornerstones of Soviet Russia's (and later the Soviet Union's) foreign policy and by the mid-1950s the export of Soviet arms expanded into Africa with Algeria being amongst the first African countries to receive Soviet combat aircraft. By the 1960s and 1970s, a large number of African states had gained independence and the Soviet Union increased supply. This situation persisted until the early 1990s when most of the former Soviet allies shed socialism and switched allegiance to the West. Having often been flown by foreign volunteer or mercenary pilots such as the Cubans in Angola and South Africans in Sierra Leone, Soviet/Russian military aircraft can now be seen in countries as varied as Algeria, Libya, the Congo, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Uganda, and Sudan. Combat types from the MiG-15 to the latest Su-30MK fighters, Su-24MK tactical bombers, Su-25 attack aircraft, Mi-24/25/35 helicopters and transports from the Antonov An-12 to the Il'yushin Il-76 can all be seen across Africa. Arranged by country and using previously classified sources, Soviet and Russian Military Aircraft in Africaincludes comprehensive fleet lists of all known Soviet/Russian military aircraft together with their Chinese derivatives. Highly illustrated with contemporary photographs, air force insignia and color profiles this book forms an invaluable reference for modellers, enthusiasts and aviation historians alike. As every conflict involving Egyptian aircraft has been fought in the Middle East, full details of those aircraft will feature in the forthcoming companion volume Soviet and Russian Military Aircraft in the Middle East.

After the end of the Second World War, the Soviet Union tried to exert its political influence on the Asian continent. A major pillar of this cold‐war policy was the widespread supply of arms to the Continent including many combat, transport, training and utility aircraft. Soviet and Russian Military Aircraft in Asia reviews in detail the Soviet and Russian aircraft types used throughout Asia, starting in the 1950s and continuing through to the present day. Each nation is reviewed individually with an overview of the types used, their service record (including combat in conflicts of varying intensities) and extensive tables of individual aircraft with serials, construction numbers, versions and notes. Although the ubiquitous MiG fighters and Mil helicopters feature prominently, there are many other types to consider and aircraft from all the leading design bureaux, including Antonov, Beriyev, Il'yushin, Kamov, Sukhoi, Tupolev and Yakovlev are covered in this book. Chinese 'copies' of Soviet designs are reviewed and also included are those quasi‐military and ostensibly civilian transports which have clearly been operated largely on behalf of the military. Soviet and Russian Military Aircraft in Asia is a treasure trove of exotic colours and markings, combined with a mass of unpublished, original information including over 320 photos, over 140 colour profiles and around 50 insignia to delight modellers and fascinate all readers.

This new IISS Strategic Dossier examines the recent development of Moscow’s armed forces and military capabilities. It analyses the aspirations underpinning Russia’s military reform programme and its successes as well as its failures. The book also provides insights into Russia’s operational use of its armed forces, including in the intervention in Syria, the goals and results of recent state armament programmes, and the trajectory of future developments. This full-colour volume includes more than 50 graphics, maps and charts and over 70 images, and contains chapters on: Russia's armed forces since the end of the Cold War Strategic forces Ground forces Naval forces Aerospace forces Russia’s approach to military decision-making and joint operations Economics and industry At a time when Russia’s relations with many of its neighbours are increasingly strained, and amid renewed concern about the risk of an armed clash, this dossier is essential reading for understanding the state,capabilities and future of Russia’s armed forces.

The first recipient of Soviet military hardware in the Americas was Cuba in 1959. Since then the Cuban Air Force has operated the MiG-15 to the MiG-29, An-26 and Il-76MD transports and more. Cuban combat aircraft have seen action against the ships and aircraft used by the CIA in its subversive activities against Cuba. Other Latin American nations have also ordered Russian military aircraft - based on common sense and economic expediency rather than political affiliations. These include Mexico; Brazil; neighboring Colombia; the Argentina Air Force and Bolivia which is among the latest customers for the Mi-17, with plans to use for drug-busting operations. Another major customer for Soviet aircraft was Peru, which ordered An-26 and An-32 transports, MiG-29 fighters, Su-20/Su-22 fighter-bombers and Su-25 attack aircraft. Peruvian Su-22s have been involved in the border conflict with neighboring Ecuador and Soviet aircraft (notably Mi-17 and Mi-24 helicopters) have been actively used by the Sandinista regime in Nicaragua against the US-backed Contras insurgents during the civil war. More recently, Venezuela, another country noted for its anti-US stance, purchased a large batch of Su-30MKV multi-role fighters, as well as Mi-17 and Mi-26 helicopters. Written by the acknowledged experts in the field and illustrated throughout with photographs and color artwork, this is the definitive record of Soviet and Russian military aircraft and their combat operations in this region.

For this study, a group of Russian authors were commissioned to describe and assess the arms trade policies and practices of Russia under new domestic and international conditions. The contributors, drawn from the government, industry, and academic communities, offer a wide range of reports on the political, military, economic, and industrial implications of Russian arms transfers, as well as specific case studies of key bilateral arms transfer relationships.

Force Structure, Tactics, and Modernization of the Russian Ground Forces The mighty Soviet Army is no more. The feckless Russian Army that stumbled into Chechnya is no more. Today's Russian Army is modern, better manned, better equipped and designed for maneuver combat under nuclear-threatened conditions. This is your source for the tactics, equipment, force structure and theoretical underpinnings of a major Eurasian power. Here's what the experts are saying: "A superb baseline study for understanding how and why the modern Russian Army functions as it does. Essential for specialist and generalist alike." -Colonel (Ret) David M. Glantz, foremost Western author on the Soviet Union in World War II and Editor of The Journal of Slavic Military Studies. "Congratulations to Les Grau and Chuck Bartles on filling a gap which has yawned steadily wider since the end of the USSR. Their book addresses evolving Russian views on war, including the blurring of its nature and levels, and the consequent Russian approaches to the Ground Forces' force structuring, manning, equipping, and tactics. Confidence is conferred on the validity of their arguments and conclusions by copious footnoting, mostly from an impressive array of primary sources. It is this firm grounding in Russian military writings, coupled with the authors' understanding of war and the Russian way of thinking about it, that imparts such an authoritative tone to this impressive work." -Charles Dick, former Director of the Combat Studies Research Centre, Senior Fellow at the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom, author of the 1991 British Army Field Manual, Volume 2, A Treatise on Soviet Operational Art and author of From Victory to Stalemate The Western Front, Summer 1944 and From Defeat to Victory, The Eastern Front, Summer 1944. "Dr. Lester Grau's and Chuck Bartles' professional research on the Russian Armed Forces is widely read throughout the world and especially in Russia. Russia's Armed Forces have changed much since the large-scale reforms of 2008, which brought the Russian Army to the level of the world's other leading armies. The speed of reform combined with limited information about their core mechanisms represented a difficult challenge to the authors. They have done a great job and created a book which could be called an encyclopedia of the modern armed forces of Russia. They used their wisdom and talents to explore vital elements of the Russian military machine: the system of recruitment and training, structure of units of different levels, methods and tactics in defense and offence and even such little-known fields as the Arctic forces and the latest Russian combat robotics." -Dr. Vadim Kozyulin, Professor of Military Science and Project Director, Project on Asian Security, Emerging Technologies and Global Security Project PIR Center, Moscow. "Probably the best book on the Russian Armed Forces published in North America during the past ten years. A must read for all analysts and professionals following Russian affairs. A reliable account of the strong and weak aspects of the Russian Army. Provides the first look on what the Russian Ministry of Defense learned from best Western practices and then applied them on Russian soil." -Ruslan Pukhov, Director of the Moscow-based Centre for the Analysis of Strategies and Technologies (CAST) and member of the Public Council of the Russian Federation Ministry of Defense. Author of Brothers Armed: Military Aspects of the Crisis in Ukraine, Russia's New Army, and The Tanks of August.

Originally conceived as a replacement for the famous MiG-21, changing priorities turned the MiG-23 into a STOL fighter with variable-geometry wings that first flew in June 1967. After two years of testing, the aircraft, codename Flogger, entered service in 1969. From then on development of the Flogger proceeded along two parallel lines originally as a fighter/interceptor with a two-seat trainer variant and later as a fighter/bomber which evolved into the MiG-27 used by the Soviet Air Force. This, in turn, was progressively improved as the MiG-27D/MiG-27M and the MiG-27K. The MiG-23 family was widely exported. New aircraft were supplied to the Soviet Union's Warsaw Pact allies and selected nations in the Middle East, Africa and Asia. Later, second-hand machines were sold from CIS stocks to various parts of the world, which allowed the MiG-23 to remain active abroad longer than in Russia where single-engined combat jets had been phased out in 1997. The Flogger saw a good deal of action. Soviet MiG-23MLDs were actively used in the Afghan War; elsewhere, the fighter variants saw action in Syria (both in against Israel in the 1970s and in the Syrian Civil War), Libya, Iraq, Angola and Sudan. The fighter-bombers also fought in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Sri Lanka. This comprehensive book describes the development and service history of all variants of these aircraft, featuring fleet lists and numerous rare photos and color profiles.

One of the most unusual strands in aviation history has been the development of wing-in-ground effect (WIG) vehicles, or as they are more commonly known by their Russian name, Ekranploans. Beginning with a brief outline of the concept from the theory to viable technical solutions, this new, expanded edition of Soviet and Russian Ekranploans gives a historical survey of the development of WIG research and construction in Russia. A large part of the book focuses on a type-by-type description of specific designs of ekranoplans developed in the Soviet Union and Russia in the course of half a century. Special emphasis is given to the activities of Rostislav Alekseyev, who has played an enormous role in the development of this new technology. Ekranoplans developed by several other major design bureaus, notably those led by Sukhoi, Bartini and Beriyev, are also considered. Economic and political transformations following the break-up of the Soviet Union led to the emergence of privately-owned design bureaus and firms that are now pursuing the development of WIG aircraft in Russia, given the lack of interest on the part of the military and the state in this branch of transport technology. This new edition has been fully updated to include unpublished photos and diagrams and examples of similar technology being developed in countries outside of Russian, including the USA, Germany and China. This is a welcome update to a book regarded as the definitive work on these unusual and exciting aircraft.

Kreutz examines the political strategy and diplomatic engagement of the Russian Federation and the former Soviet Union toward the Arab states in Southwest Asia and Egypt. He argues that Washington can better engage Moscow as a stabilizing force in the Middle East as well as a collaborator in the struggle against Islamic terrorism.