Arms industry of Russia

The arms industry of Russia, also known as the defense industry of Russia is a strategically important sector and a large employer in the Russian Federation.^[1] It employs approximately 3.5 million people nationwide and accounts for 20% of all manufacturing jobs in Russia.^[2][3]

President Vladimir Putin considers the Syrian Civil War to be a good platform for advertisement of the capabilities of Russian weapons capable of boosting Russia's military sales.^[4][5] Russia accounted for 22% of global arms sales in 2013–17,^[6] that figure dropped to 16% in 2018–22 (SIPRI's statistics).^[7][8] In 2023, Russia was for the first time the third largest arms exporter, falling just behind France. Russian arms exports fell by 53% between 2014–18 and 2019–23. The number of countries purchasing major Russian arms dropped from 31 in 2019 to 12 in 2023. States in Asia and Oceania received 68% of total Russian arms exports in 2019–23, with India accounting for 34% and China for 21%.^[9]

The New York Times reported in an article on 13 September 2023, citing US and European officials, that Russia overcomes the international sanctions and its missile production now exceeded pre-war levels. It was also reported that Russia now produces more ammunitions than the United States and Europe combined and it can manufacture 200 tanks from scratch and two million units of ammunition in a year according to Western sources.^[10] CNN reported on 11 March 2024, citing Western intelligence officials, that Russia currently produces about 250,000 artillery shells a month or about 3 million a year which is nearly three times the quantity the US and Europe produce for Ukraine.^[11]