Russia’s weapons exports are projected to grow in 2017 for the first time in five years, the RBC news outlet has reported.
Russia was the second largest global arms exporter in 2016 with sales amounting to $6.3 billion — a 9 percent decrease from the previous year, according to the British military analytics company Jane’s Information Group cited by RBC.
Jane’s predicts Russia’s weapons exports will increase to over $7 billion this year, making this the first rise since 2012. According to the report, “Russia has a strong portfolio of orders up to 2020.”
The figures on arms exports presented by Jane’s reflect deliveries that already took place, rather than concluded contracts for future deliveries.
In 2016, the United States' exports amounted to $23.3 billion, “increasing their relative market share in comparison to Russia,” Jane’s analysts said.
Despite its projected growth in arms sales this year, Russia will further lag behind the United States in defense exports, as U.S. supplies are set to increase by 15.5 percent to $26.9 billion.
According to Jane’s in 2016, Russia sold military aircraft valued at $3 billion, military vessels at $920 million, land vehicles for $641 million, missile armaments for $610 million, and radars for $431 million.
The overall international shipment of arms increased by $ 4.3 billion to $62.5 billion in 2016, the authors of the Jane's report said.
