Russia's Arms Exporter Sold $19Bln Worth of Weapons in 2018, CEO Says

AS telling themoscowtimes.com,

Russia sold $19 billion worth of weapons in 2018, according to the CEO of Rostec, the government-owned industrial giant that includes Russia's monopoly arms exporter in its vast portfolio.

Russia's state arms seller Rosoboronexport was set up in 2000 by Vladimir Putin and has since sold over $50 billion worth of arms, according to Rostec CEO Sergei Chemezov. It is the sole entity responsible for the supply and export of Russian arms and military equipment abroad. Early last month, Russia signed a $5.43 billion deal to supply India with five S-400 missile systems.

"Over the past 18 years, Rosoboronexport has become one of the world’s leaders in the delivery of armaments and military hardware and has achieved record figures,” Chemezov was cited as saying by the state-run TASS news agency on Thursday.

“Today Russia confidently holds second place in the world by volume of military and technical cooperation,” Chemezov said, adding that in 2018, the country sold nearly 25 percent more arms than the year before.

Rosoboronexport reportedly signed an estimated 1,100 contracts with 40 countries in the past year.