Russia has earned $24billion from the sale of 50 warships since 2000, according to the country’s agency for exports and imports of defence-related products.
“One third of them were submarines,” said Alexander Mikheyev, the Director General of Rosoboronexport, the country’s sole state intermediary agency for exports and imports of defence-related products, in a statement.
Mikheyev said that warships accounted for around 12 percent of total arms exports by his agency, which is part of the state defense conglomerate Rostec.
Rosoboronexport expects to sign new contracts at the 8th International Maritime Defence Show (IMDS-2017) which is scheduled to open on Wednesday in Russia’s second largest city of St. Petersburg, Mikheyev said without specifying potential buyers.
Another Russian official Vladimir Kozhin, President Putin’s adviser, said Russia’s involvement in Syria is part of the reason demands are rising for the country’s warships.
“Everyone sees the great job our ships are doing there. Our ships are in high demand, especially frigates and corvettes,” Kozhin said, when asked how the impact Russia’s operation in Syria has had on the export of Russian naval ships.
According to Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), Russia is among the five biggest exporters of major armaments in 2012-2016, during which the country delivered weapons to 50 states in total.
The combined arms sales of the 11 Russian companies in the 2015 Top 100 reached 30.1 billion dollars, representing 8.1 percent of the total Top 100 arms sales for 2015, according to SIPRI’s December report.
SIPRI is an independent international institute dedicated to research into conflict, armaments, arms control and disarmament.
