Russia overtakes UK as world’s second largest arms producer as Putin invests in futuristic weapons
The country has been modernising its armed forces in recent years including weapons to rival the West's
RUSSIA has overtaken Britain to become the world's second-largest arms producer after the United States, new figures show.
The combined sales of Russian companies amounted to £29.2 billion in 2017, an 8.5 percent rise from a year earlier.
It now accounts for 9.5 percent of a worldwide total of £314 billion, in the wake of Vladimir Putin’s drive to modernise Russia’s armed forces with futuristic weapons.
The country has brought into service the SU 57 stealth fighter and the T-14 Armata tank, which are seen as rivals to weapons produced in the West.
Among the weapons it has been developing are a robot tank, laser cannon that can destroy satellites in space and a drone that can operate at minus 50C.
Britain now sells £28.2 billion worth of arms, an increase of 2.3 per cent, and its companies account for the most arms produced in Western Europe.
The next biggest arms producer is France, whose companies sold £16.6 billion worth of arms.
But all the countries are dwarfed by the United States, whose arms sales grew by 2.0 per cent to £179 billion - or 57 per cent of total.
The figures were released by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute in its annual report on the world arms trade.
The report includes both domestic and foreign sales, but doesn't include Chinese companies because of unreliable statistics, the Institute said.
Siemon Wezeman, a senior researcher at the institute, said Russian producers of arms and weapon systems have been on a significant growth path since 2011.
"This is in line with Russia's increased spending on arms procurement to modernize its armed forces," Wezeman said.
For the first time in the report's history, a Russian company - Almaz-Antey - which makes advanced air defense systems, was listed among the world's top 10 weapons companies.
The Moscow-based state owned firm, which was already Russia’s largest arms-producing company, increased its sales by 17 per cent in 2017, to £6.8 billion.
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Along with Almaz-Anteny, Russia’s United Engine Corporation increased its sales by 25 per cent, High Precision Systems by 22 per cent and Tactical Missiles Corporation by 19 per cent, said the SIPR.
Overall, the U.S. companies, including world's largest arms producer, Lockheed Martin, continued to dominate the list.
The report also highlighted a 24 percent rise in sales by Turkish arms companies in 2017 from the preceding year.
That reflected Turkey's ambitions to develop its arms industry to fulfil its growing demand for weapons and become less dependent on foreign suppliers, said the Institute.
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