Israel Aerospace Industries has agreed to speed up production of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) for Russia after the Moscow government agreed to cancel a deal to provide Syria with eight MiG-31 fighter planes. Sources said that the expected delivery date for the UAVs would be moved up to the end of 2009, according to The Jerusalem Post . A Defense Ministry spokesman contacted by Israel National News declined to comment on the report. Israel signed its first deal to provide military technology to Russia in April, promising $50 million worth of drones to replace the outdated Russian fleet. The deal included the second-tier Israeli UAVs Bird-Eye 400, I-View MK150, and Search MK II . Russian took an interest in Israeli drone technology after its brief war last year with Georgia. Russian military officials concluded that the Israeli UAVs used by Georgia were tactically superior to current Russian drone technology. Defense Ministry official Amos Gilad traveled to Moscow in December and gained assurances that in exchange for the Israeli technology, Russia would agree not to sell the S-300 missile defense system to Iran and would consider canceling the $500 million MiG-31 deal with Syria. Last week, the Russian Kommersant newspaper reported that the country’s defense ministry had halted production on the planes destined for Syria in response to Israeli pressure. Syria has since denied the report.
