Russian arms sales soar on domestic spending

AFP via Yahoo! ^

[wetphoenix]

Stockholm (AFP) - Sales by Russian arms manufacturers continue to expand thanks to Moscow's investments despite a downturn in global defence spending, a Stockholm-based think-tank said Monday.

"The remarkable increases in Russian companies' arms sales in both 2012 and 2013 are in large part due to uninterrupted investments in military procurement by the Russian government during the 2000s," said Siemon Wezeman, senior researcher at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

Sales by Russian-based arms firms grew by 20 percent in 2013, according to SIPRI.

However, figures for the 100 biggest arms-dealing nations excluding China declined for the third year in a row, with a two-percent drop in sales in 2013 to $402 billion (322 billion euros).

SIPRI's report does not include China due to a lack of reliable data. China's companies supply a military that enjoys the world's second-biggest budget.

The Russian company with the biggest increase in sales in 2013 was Tactical Missiles Corporation, which registered a 118-percent hike, followed by Almaz-Antey, with a 34 percent increase.

Almaz-Antey is now the 12th-largest arms manufacturer in the world, getting closer to the top 10, "which has been exclusively populated by arms producers from the US or Western Europe since the end of the Cold War," SIPRI said.

[Krosan]

Put some percentages to it to show how ridiculous it is. “While gas station’s gas selling revenues fell by 40% their revenues from Juicy Fruit bubble gum have climbed”.

[gleeaikin]

Yes we need comparative data. I seem to recall reading that the Ukraine had quite a bit of Russia’s arms manufacturing capability.

[Krosan]

Ukraine has learned that “never trust Russia” is true in a hard way.

Please read this piece explaining the modern difference between them.

http://skibinsky.com/no-russian/