[myknowledge]

Whoa. Talk about such an improving Russian arms industry since the Soviet Union's collapse. Arms export is the mainstay of the Russian economy followed by oil and gas.

But I wonder where Russia would find more potential customers? Latin America? Africa maybe? Perhaps the Middle East?

[highlander_UW]

The defense industry employs nearly three million people and accounts for about 20 percent of industrial jobs in Russia.

Wow, that's a pretty surprising percentage. It does make me wonder what the percentage is in the US now given that the US is one of the largest exporter of military equipment.

[43north]

Obamao and the dhims will decide that they can claim to be shrinking the deficit by buying the less expensive Russian versions of armaments...

[RolandOfGilead]

In 2004, Russian arms sales were $5.6 billion, and that went to $6 billion in 2005 and $7 billion in 2006. Russian arms sales were only $4.3 billion in 2003


Now the sales are at 8.5 billion. Thats 100% growth in only 5 years. Amazing.

[Eye of Unk]

I think it would be good strategy to indeed buy Russian made military hardware, in some respects quantity has its own quality.

It would not be too difficult to take an inexpensive Russian tank of a generation or two past like the T-72 and convert it to remote control, same for certain aircraft.