THE SOUTHERN TALKS #14: Iran's defense trade industrial capability areas

The Southern Talks #14 - Full Webinar

Iran's Defence Trade - Industrial Capability Areas

This highly informative and topical discussion on the Trade and Industrial Capabilities in Iran’s Defence sector introduces our esteemed guest, Mr. Martín Novella, Director of Anti-Competitive Concerted Practices at Argentina’s National Competition Commission (CNDC), Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Martín Novella is a defence economist and independent researcher specializing in global defence industries, acquisition policies and defence-industrial strategies.
Previously, he served as National Director of Defence Industrial Policy at Argentina’s Ministry of defence, and as Head of Operations Planning at Argentina’s state-owned Military Manufacturing Directorate (DGFM). He has lectured at Argentina’s National defence University (UNDEF) and contributed as an external researcher for the Rabdan Institute for Security and Defense Studies (RSDI). He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Buenos Aires (UBA) and a Master’s degree in Political Economy from the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences (FLACSO).

Mr. Novella began by providing an in-depth overview of the current situation regarding Iran's military budget and its broader economic determinants. He then discussed production, in particular by providing the results of his in-depth analysis into Iran’s primary focus – the production of missiles and UAVs. His presentation ended with the main challenges facing Iran’s development of its military industry today.

Highlights

The sanctions imposed on Iran following the 1979 revolution severely limited Iran’s ability to access the growing global advances in technology. Such effects of are still evident today, continuing to hinder Iran’s ability to internationalise its defence capabilities.

· Although Iran has made great strides in developing its own indigenous production, the Iraqi war demonstrated how limited it remains.

· There remains a more narrow, asymmetric approach to production focussing primarily on missile production and UAVs, particularly for export. News to the contrary is, in his opinion, severely exaggerated.

· Iran's defence trade is primarily with North Korea, China and Russia and it makes great efforts to export to Africa.

· Iran has access to many chemical resources which are often scarce in the West.

· Illegal supply chains, such as production material being supplied by China, have been of benefit to Iran, particularly regarding their ability to mass-produce low-cost UAVs.

· The Iranian economy, which continues to suffer from a constantly changing exchange rate regime, is a thorn in the side of the Iranian Defence industry.

Research questions

What are the main features of Iran’s military industries?
How advanced are Iran’s military industrial capabilities?
How does Iran obtain the inputs it needs for its military industrial production?
How has Iran used its military industrial capabilities as a foreign policy tool?
What are the main challenges for Iran’s continuing development of its military industry?