Sanctions-busting exports: Russia’s arms sales already exceed $11bn this year

Official Russian arms exporter Rosoboronexport has sold US$11 billion worth of military equipment to 43 countries in the first 10 months of 2019, the company’s director general revealed.

The arms dealer has also signed over 800 contracts for future deliveries, Alexander Mikheev of Rosoboronexport said, noting that the results are not final for 2019, as there are still two months of work till the end of the year.

“Simultaneously, the portfolio of orders of the company keeps at the level of nearly 50 billion dollars, which guarantees the load for Russian defense industry enterprises for several years ahead,” reads the statement published on Friday, three days before Rosoboronexport’s 19th anniversary.

The company says it has already managed to find foreign buyers for potential “bestsellers” in the world arms market, including the export version of futuristic Su-57 fifth-generation fighters, the Su-57E, as well as Mi-28NE and Mi-171SH helicopters. Among this year’s other new offerings are the Tornado-S multiple launch rocket system (MLRS), MLRS projectiles, and the Rubezh-ME coastal tactical missile system.

Meanwhile, Russia has finished delivery of all components of S-400 missile defense systems to Turkey, Mikheev said. This is despite Turkey’s NATO ally the US threatening to slap sanctions on Ankara and kick it out of the F-35 fighter jet program over the deal.

The arms exporter said it is ready to do business even under “immense pressure from the part of competitors,” as it has special financial arrangements to make cooperation with clients “independent from unfavorable external conditions.”

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