Moscow, April 21 (Inditop.com/RIA Novosti) Russia expects to boost its arms sales by 12 percent in 2010, the Federal Agency for Military Cooperation said Wednesday.
“We calculate arms sales of $9.5 billion,” head of the agency Mikhail Dmitriyev said.
India, China, Algeria, Venezuela, Malaysia and Syria are the main buyers of Russian arms. Vietnam also emerged as a key importer after it signed a deal to buy submarines, aircraft and other military hardware from Russia late last year.
Russian arms sales were worth over $8.5 billion last year, including $7.4 billion via state arms exporter Rosoboronexport, whose sales increased 10 percent.
Sergei Svechnikov, head of the Rosoboronexport department of analysis and long-term planning, earlier told RIA Novosti that despite constantly expanding arms exports, Russia faced increasing competition in the international market from the US, Germany and China.
