Russia sells arms worth $2 billion in 2.5 months of 2014

Since the beginning of 2014, Russia has sold weapons and military equipment in the amount of two billion dollars, director of the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation, Alexander Fomin said.

"To date, Russia has supplied military products to foreign customers in the amount of two billion dollars," he said on the eve of the opening of FIDAE-2014 armory show in Santiago (Chile). Fomin noted that the export orders portfolio of the Russian Federation exceeded $47 billion as of March 2014.

For comparison, according to the results of 2013, Russia sold weapons worth the total of $15.7 billion. In 2012, Russia outstripped the target for the supply of arms and military equipment abroad by 11.8 %, having exported products in the amount of 15.16 billion dollars, Fomin reported in January 2013, emphasizing that those were only preliminary data. The backlog of orders exceeded $46 billion then.

In ten years, Russian arms exports and the volume of orders have tripled. According to the report from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), Russia was among the countries that became the world's largest arms suppliers from 2009 to 2013. Russia accounts for 27% of global arms exports. The USA takes the lead with 29%.

A year ago, according to SIPRI, Russia supplied 23% of arms in the world, while the U.S. accounted for 30% of world exports.

Russia sells its arms and military equipment to 52 countries of the world. In 2009-2013, three countries - India, China and Algeria - accounted for more than a half of purchases. Sixty-five percent of exports go to the Asia-Pacific region, followed by Africa (14%) and Middle East (10%). Russia was the largest exporter of vessels in the world; exports of airplanes accounted for 43%. In four years, as many as 219 combat aircraft were sold.

In the summer of 2013, at the Jubilee Air Show at Le Bourget, Russian aircraft was out of competition. First contracts for "Alligator" and "Night Hunter" helicopters were signed with Iraq. The agreement provides for the purchase of arms in the amount of 4.3 billion dollars.

In January 2014, it was reported that American actor and martial artist Steven Seagal expressed his willingness to do promotion for Russian arms products on the world market. The actor may sign a contract with Kalashnikov Concern, which signed an exclusive contract for the supply of arms products to the U.S. and Canada. The agreement was concluded on January 14, during Shot Show 2014. The exports of the concern to these countries are estimated from 80 to 200 thousand pieces per year.

At the same time, several countries have recently abandoned military cooperation with Russia over Moscow's decision to make the formerly Ukrainian Crimea a part of the Russian Federation. The West refers to the move as "annexation." In particular, it goes about the UK and Germany. London withdrew licenses for the delivery of military goods to Russia, such as cloth for uniforms and various small parts for helmets. The sum of these supplies is estimated at 37 million pounds.

Berlin, in turn, decided to suspend all military cooperation with Russia in March and April of this year. According to the government's decision, no transactions can be approved relating to the export of arms and war material to Russia. Prior to that, Germany suspended the construction of a military training center near Nizhny Novgorod. The contract is worth 100 million euros.

France, however, decided not to cut its military cooperation with Russia. Paris could refuse from delivering French Mistral helicopter carriers to Russia, but such measures would hit France most.

Pravda.Ru