Russian main arms exporting company Rosoboronexport has delivered weapons and military hardware at a record 13.2 billion dollars in the previous year, Rosoboronexport Director
General Anatoly Isaikin said in an interview published in Kommersant daily on Monday
"As of December 31, we have delivered weapons and military hardware at 13.2 billion dollars. This figure exceeded slightly target figures that cannot but gladden us. In general, annual export through our company went up fourfold from 2001 to 2013. In 2013 alone we have received and considered 1,902 bids of foreign customers. Finally, 1,202 contracts were signed," Isaikin said.
The Rosoboronexport general director noted that geography of supplies had changed drastically in 2013 and "the same countries India, China and Vietnam are among main importing countries of Russian weapons and military hardware." Meanwhile, "Indonesia, Venezuela, Algeria and partially Malaysia" are among them. "All in all, supplies were made in 60 countries," Isaikin noted.
The head of the Russian main arms exporting company noted that annual weapons supplies at 13 billion dollars are almost at the limit for the company.
"First of all, we aim at figures set in the army's armament state programme up to 2020 that is delivery of new models of military hardware and weapons and modernisation of weapons and military hardware already in service. Proceeding from this factor we can estimate how successful promotion of Russian products will be. Our main task will be to keep up weapons export at 13 billion dollars within next 2-3 years. I do not believe that we will succeed to surpass it, because new models of military hardware that potential buyers are interested in should be primarily delivered to Russian army and only then we can count on export," Isaikin said.
In his view, with due account of "our own forces and capacities as well as those of military industry it is certainly possible to hope for gradual growth in amount of supplies, but I do not believe that revenues may exceed 15 billion dollars."
As for structure of Rosoboronexport order portfolio, which has made "almost 38 billion dollars" last December, Isaikin noted that "on results of 2013 aircraft of the Air Force make 38.3 percent of all concluded contracts against 32.3 percent in 2012." "Naval vessels have 17 percent in portfolio, ground military hardware - 14.2 percent, air defence systems - 26.2 percent," the Rosoboronexport head noted.
TASS