In order to fortify their defense industry, countries resort to superpowers and reliable
arms exporters who built sophisticated weapons and machineries. Other than the United States,
Russia has increasingly gained significance as one of the world’s largest defense industry exporters.
Well, which countries usually bought weapons from Russia and what exactly did they buy?
Hello everyone. Welcome back to another episode of Military TV. In today’s session, we are going
to take a look at the list of countries who import their defense machineries from Russia.
If you find yourself curious about this topic, make sure you watch this video ‘till the very end.
With the aim of advancing the country’s economic objectives, the arms sales are being rigorously
controlled by the Russian government since it is also a central element of Russian foreign policy.
Through the arms export, the country is provided with a critical source of hard currency,
while it also successfully promoted Russia’s defense and political relations with other nations
and strengthened essential domestic enterprises.
Rosoboronexport, a government-controlled consortium, has had a legal monopoly
on Russian arms exports since 2007. All exports must go through Rosoboronexport,
though 22 firms are permitted to export spare parts and components independently.
According to the consortium, the only authorized Russian arms exporter,
Russia has sold weapons to 166 of the 190 UN member countries.
Russia exports a wide range of weaponry, such as legacy and advanced aircraft, air defence systems,
naval vessels and submarines, radars, missiles, tanks, armoured vehicles,
small arms, and artillery. Official Russian stats indicate that aircraft account for 50% of Russian
arms exports. The majority of Russia's current weapons are updated versions of legacy systems,
but Russia is increasingly marketing its most technologically advanced systems.
Now let’s take a look at the list of countries with whom Russia had done big arms deal.
1. India
India is notable for being a prominent client of Russian-produced machineries.
The agreement between the Kalashnikov Concern and the Indian military made headlines in 2021.
The arms manufacturer agreed to a $590 million contract with New Delhi to produce
AK-203 assault rifles at a plant in Korva, one of the towns in Indian state Uttar Pradesh.
The agreement states that New Delhi will produce up to 671,427 AK-203 assault rifles,
and will begin full-scale production of these weapons for the country's military forces.
When compared to other modern AKs, this weapon is chambered for 7.62x39mm rounds
and has several ergonomic adjustments. The price of each gun reportedly will be around $958.
India continues to be one of Russia's major arms buyers.
Another massive weapon deal was announced in 2018 when the two sides signed a $5.8
billion contract for the production of the S-400 air defence system,
and Moscow will have supplied the first batch of these units by the end of this year.
According to Ivan Konovalov, a military expert from the Foundation for the Promotion of
Technologies of the 21st Century, currently the S-400 remains as the most advanced air defence
system in the world. It’s skilled at shooting down all modern and perspective aerial targets,
ranging from bombs to stealth fighter jets and cruise missiles.
The expert also mentioned that India is Russia's first foreign partner to obtain the system.
2. Africa and the Middle East Russia signed a $1.7 billion arms deal with 17
African countries in 2021. Rosoboronexport did not specify which weapons and to whom
it delivered in the region, but it stated that it includes helicopters, air defence systems,
naval equipment, light armoured vehicles, and firearms for law enforcement agencies.
All weapon sales to foreign countries have been classified as a 'state secret' since early 2021.
"As a result, most of the time, Rosoboronexport will only reveal the entire range of equipment
they presented in the region, unless information about a deal is leaked into the press via foreign
media," says Dmitry Litovkin, executive editor of the 'Independent Military Review' newspaper.
He claimed that during a military exhibition in mid-2021, Russia displayed BTR-80
armoured personnel carriers, the latest variants of AK assault rifles: AK-12,
AK-15, AK-19, and AK-308. Additionally, they also exhibited 'Kornet' anti-tank missiles.
As a consequence, these weaponries could be on the list of potential sales.
During military exhibitions in the Middle East, Russia also spent $1.3 billion and bid
on prospective deliveries worth more than $2.5 billion if signed. There,
the country unveiled its new fifth-generation single-engine 'Checkmate' fighter jet,
as well as battle drones tested in Syria and the new MC-21 medium-range airliner.
3. United States Despite American sanctions,
Russian military manufacturers set a record for ammo deliveries to the United States.
According to the US Census Bureau's foreign trade data and as cited by the Russian RBK business
daily, US companies imported $157.9 million in Russian small arms ammunition in the first ten
months of the year. That equates to approximately 7.7 million rounds for civilian AK carbines.
Newly imposed American sanctions in August 2021 restricted further licensing
of purchasing firearms and ammo from Russia. Before the sanctions are fully implemented,
American companies try to acquire as much ammunition as possible for their clients.
Another source also revealed that in a couple of years,
new restrictions will fully forbid Russian ammo deliveries to the U.S.
and their companies will have to search for new suppliers of ammo for the AK rifles.
4. Latin and South America Russia has been trading and producing
weapons with seven South American countries since the early 2000s: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia,
Ecuador, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela. For their local police enforcement,
Moscow manufactures and sells helicopters, light armour vehicles, air defence systems, and guns.
Venezuela is Russia’s largest customer in a region. Its army is primarily equipped with
Russian-made weapons. He points out that Moscow and Caracas have billion-dollar
weapons contracts that cover everything from ground vehicles to pistols to helicopters.
Venezuela bought armoured infantry support equipment, namely BMP-3M
infantry fighting vehicles and BTR-80A armoured personnel carriers. It also has
deals for artillery systems like the Msta-S and multiple-launch rocket systems such as the 'Grad.'
5. CIS Countries The Commonwealth
of Independent States or CIS which consist of the ex-Soviet countries,
are also known to be the clients of Russian-produced arms and vehicles.
The value of military contracts with CIS countries is not disclosed by Rosoboronexport. Despite this,
Moscow remained as the primary military supplier to the CIS in 2021. Arms export to these countries
continued to be prominent aspect of Moscow's military cooperation with its regional partners.
Kazakhstan and Belarus are the two biggest armament importers. Five divisions of S-300PS
air defence units and 16 Su-30 generation 4+ multi-role fighters were sent to Kazakhstan.
Not only that, Russia also extended its Su-30SM fighter-delivery contracts with Kazakhstan.
In comparison to the mid-2010s, Russian arms exports to Belarus have increased
up to three times in recent years. For the local Air Defence Forces,
it's mostly air defence systems and aircraft. According to various sources,
Minsk has received S-300 air defence units as well as Yak-130 combat training aircraft.
And that’s all for today! Thank you for watching and we’ll see you in the next episode!