Russia has emerged as the world's second-largest arms producer after the United States, according to a new report released by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
Russia's state arms seller Rosoboronexport last month said that it sold $19 billion worth of weapons in 2018, including the high profile $5.4 billion arms sale of five S-400 missile systems to India.
Ten Russian companies were listed in the world’s top 100 arms producing companies In SIPRI’s annual report published Monday.
Taken together, the arms sales of the companies increased by 8.5 per cent in 2017 to $37.7 billion, making Russia the second largest arms producer in 2017 — a position that had been occupied by the United Kingdom since 2002.
“Russian companies have experienced significant growth in their arms sales since 2011,” Siemon Wezeman, a senior researcher at SIPRI, was cited as saying in a press release.
“This is in line with Russia’s increased spending on arms procurement to modernize its armed forces,” he added.
SIPRI has released its annual Arms Industry Database report since 1989.
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