Russia Top Arms Dealer: Exported $4.97 Billion Worth of Arms in 2001

June 14, 2002
By Lyuba Pronina, Staff Writer

Russia is the world's top arms dealer, passing the United States for the first time in 2001, according to a new report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

Russia exported $4.97 billion worth of arms in 2001, with the United States delivering $4.56 billion worth, SIPRI said in its "Yearbook 2002: Armaments, Disarmament and International Security," made public Thursday.

France was third, exporting $1.28 billion worth of arms last year, while Britain was fourth with $1.12 billion. Germany came in fifth with $670 million and Ukraine was sixth with $430 million.

The value of arms exports differs from Russia's official figures. President Vladimir Putin said earlier this year that Russia had revenues of $4.4 billion in 2001. Some $3.7 billion worth of arms were delivered last year, Vedomosti reported.

Although the study was objective, Russian defense analysts said it does not reflect the real state of the arms market since the figures represent the military value of exported armaments and not the actual contract price. "For us, every weapon that is similar to another weapon has the same price value," SIPRI researcher Siemon Wezeman said by telephone from the Netherlands.

For example, according to SIPRI, Russia's MiG-29 and its more expensive U.S. counterpart, the F-16, are comparable in value and have the same price in the report: $30 million.

"In reality, Russia is at No. 3 or No. 4 in dollar terms," said the Center for Arms Control's Marat Kenzhetayev.

The United States should re-emerge as the No. 1 arms exporter in the coming years, Wezeman said. U.S. deliveries of combat aircraft, which are of higher value, were tiny compared with Russian deliveries in 2001, but exports are expected to rise in the future, he added.

"The U.S. has orders for a large number of combat aircraft, but this is for delivery in 2003. ... In 2002 Russia has a good chance of staying No. 1 again, mainly driven by these combat aircraft."

Last year, Russia delivered an estimated 50 Sukhoi aircraft alone. Thirty Su-30MKK and 10 Su-27UBK went to China, while 10 Su-24 were delivered to Algeria, said Konstantin Makiyenko, deputy head of the Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies. "These aircraft make up over half of [arms] deliveries in money estimates," he said.

Beijing was by far the biggest arms client overall in 2001, and deliveries to China from all countries rose 44 percent year on year to $3.1 billion.

"China is one big client that is completely dependent on Russia for its arms imports," Wezeman said. "Without China, Russia would not be there."

China mainly has purchased Russian aircraft over the last decade but is now switching to battle ships and air defense systems, Makiyenko said. These new purchases will help Russia keep its arms exports at the current rate of $3.7 billion in 2005 after a two-year slump that will begin next year as lucrative aviation contracts are fulfilled, he said.

"After 2005, there will be a radical fall to $1.5 billion to $2 billion unless the situation changes," Makiyenko said.

Russia is seeking new clients to keep up revenues, among them Brazil, where Russia expects to win a tender for fighter jets. Iran is also emerging as a big client..

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2002/06/14/041.html