Russia arms sales rise, India biggest buyer-Report
January 31, 2014, 5:16 pm

A Russian truck-mounted Topol intercontinental ballistic missile rolls through Moscow’s Red Square in the annual Victory Day parade [AP]

The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said in its new report released on Friday that India remains the top buyer of Russian arms.

Arms sales by Russian firms increased by 28 per cent, said SIPRI’s annual list of the world’s 100 largest arms manufacturers.

The report also revealed that India is the world’s top arms importer by volume from 2008 to 2012.

Sales of arms and military services by the largest arms-producing companies totaled $395 billion in 2012, said the report.

Sales by US-based arms producers still represented 58 per cent of total sales for the 100 top companies with two giant American firms Lockheed Martin Corp and Boeing claiming the top two spots.

The seven Russian companies that made it into the 2012 SIPRI Top 100, including Almaz-Antei, United Aircraft Corporation and Russian Helicopters, sold over $22 billion worth of weaponry.

“Russian arms companies continue to maintain high export levels, but the increase in estimated arms sales in 2012 mainly reflects large and growing domestic sales, as part of Russia’s $700 billion 2011-20 State Armaments Plan,” a SIPRI statement said.

Sam Perlo-Freeman, Director of SIPRI’s Military Expenditure and Arms Production Program, also outlined the challenges for the Russian arms industry.

“The industry is still plagued by outdated equipment, inefficient organization and widespread corruption, which will continue to limit Russia’s ability to compete technologically with the West,” he said.

Russia became the world’s second-largest arms exporter in 2011, generating $13.2 billion in revenues.

Meanwhile, defence firms in the US, Canada and Western European nations have seen profits dwindling, said the report.

TBP and Agencies