Arms sales continue to grow globally

Arms sales in the world continue to grow steadily from year to year. The world's leading exporters of arms and equipment have published their findings. Germany shows the most notable growth of arms supply in recent years, and the leading sellers of weapons in the world - the U.S. and Russia - are increasing their performance. 

In the current year Russia is to increase arms exports to nearly  $10 billion in cash, which is $1 billion more than last year. The final result will be affected by the loss of markets in North Africa, particularly Libya. The contracts with this country would have allowed "Rosoboronexport" exceed the $10 billion mark.

Earlier, General Director of "Rosoboronexport" Anatoly Isaikin estimated the loss of profit at $4 billion.

Major trading partners of Russia in this sector are India, China and Algeria. Russia is also actively working with the markets of Brazil, Venezuela, Indonesia, Malaysia, Syria, and Vietnam.

Approximately 50% of Russian arms sales accounted for aircraft, primarily fighters "Su" and "MiG". Different models of the Russian Su-30 are mainly exported to Southeast Asia. Among the buyers are India, China, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Malaysia.

Then there are air defense equipment, weapons for the Army, and equipment for the Navy. Overall, more than half of the exports account for weapons and military equipment, approximately 20% - for parts and assemblies, 10-15% - for equipment and components, and the rest - for work and services, PRIME reports.

China and India are the largest customers in the naval armaments sector. In the area of ​​air defense China remains an active buyer, and a substantial number of Russian tanks is purchased by India. The total value of orders for the next three years is $36 billion, but this number may change. At year-end the order book may range from $35 to $38 billion.

In the U.S., the volume of the program of arms, military equipment and services in 2011 fiscal year totaled $34.8 billion. These numbers appear in the report of the Office of Military Cooperation (DSCA) of the U.S. Department of Defense. In recent years the sales of the U.S. gunmakers have been stable and remain at over $30 billion.

However, the U.S. exports have not reached the planned volume. In 2011 it was set at $46 billion, Bloomberg reports. The sales through the Foreign Military Supply (FMS) under an agreement with foreign governments and with the mediation of DSCA were at $28.3 billion instead of the planned $36.3 billion.

However, the report shows that in 2012 analysts expect lower demand for these products. In this regard, the next year's total sales are expected to reach $30 billion. It is worth noting that this amount is not final and may be recalculated.

The export of arms from Germany has markedly increased in 2010. Germany sold abroad weapons and military equipment for 2.1 billion Euros, i.e., 60 percent more than in 2009. This was reported by the agency with reference to the DAPD report on arms exports approved by the Government of Germany on Wednesday, December 7.

The German defense industry had a major contract this year. As reported by German media, Riyadh will buy 270 "Leopard 2" tanks from Germany. Experts believe that Saudi Arabia will be paying not less than 1.7 billion Euros for this deal.

Vladimir Shabanov.