Russia's Federal Security Service, successor to the KGB, is reportedly negotiating with Israel to purchase advanced unmanned aerial vehicles for border surveillance amid a torrent of complaints by the military about the poor quality of Russian-built drones.
Russian business newspaper Kommersant reports that the security service, known by its Russian acronym FSB, seeks at least five high-performance Orbiter UAVs from Israel's Aeronautics Defense Systems.
Israel is a world leader in developing and manufacturing advanced UAVs. Its military forces have used them extensively for surveillance of the Palestinian territories in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, and in Lebanon, its northern neighbor.
It has also used missile-armed UAVs for airstrikes, including the assassination of militant leaders on both fronts in recent years.
The Orbiter has a silent electric motor that reduces detection from the ground. It can carry a payload -- video cameras and transmitters -- of around 3.5 pounds at a maximum altitude of around 8,500 feet for two to three hours.
"That the FSB should express interest in UAVs is not surprising," according to the Washington-based Jamestown Foundation, which monitors global security issues.
"There are a number of locations where they would enhance border security, ranging from the Russian-Kazakh border to potential conflict zones such as Abkhazia, South Ossetia as well as in the North Caucasus.
"The deterioration in the security situation in the North Caucasus is undoubtedly a factor in the timing of the FSB initiative, since special services are at the forefront of combating the rising tide of insurgency."
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