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Arms industry of Russia
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Arms industry of Russia
The defense industry of Russia is a strategically important sector and a large employer in the Russian Federation. As of April 2025, it employs approximately 4.5 million people nationwide. It also accounts for 20% of all manufacturing jobs in Russia. Total defense spending in Russia reached 7.5% of GDP in 2023.
President Vladimir Putin considered the Syrian civil war to be a good platform for advertisement of the capabilities of Russian weapons capable of boosting Russia's military sales. Russia accounted for 21% of global arms sales in 2014–18, that figure dropped to 11% in 2019–23 (SIPRI's statistics). 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%. The Russian Industry and Trade Minister Anton Alikhanov claimed on 12 August 2024 that the Russian defense industry now employs about 3.8 million people.
International sanctions after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 have been ineffective in countering Russian arms manufacturing. Russian military production has steadily grown, with missile production now exceeded pre-war levels. Russia currently manufactures more ammunition than all NATO nations combined, estimated at seven times the amount of the West. It has doubled its annual tank production and tripled its artillery and rocket production from pre-invasion numbers. Russia's production costs are drastically lower than those of competing nations, costing about 10 times less to create an artillery shell than comparable NATO ammunition. As of 2024, Russia produces about 3 million artillery shells a year, nearly three times the quantity from the US and Europe. The Russian defense industry has also heavily increased its production of armored vehicles and UAVs since 2023. Russia's expanding arms production has been linked to its managed economy, with heavy state subsidization of unprofitable arms manufacturers prior to the 2022 invasion, in comparison with capitalist western nations with arms manufacturers geared towards maximizing shareholder profit. On 23 November 2024, the German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius stated that Russia has now fully switched to a "war economy" and produces in three months the weapons and ammunition that the European Union produces in a year. NATOs Secretary General Mark Rutte made the same assessment in January 2025. On 3 April 2025, General Christopher Cavoli said before the US Senate Armed Services Committee that Russia is replacing its extensive battlefield losses of equipment and munitions at an "unprecedented rate" due to the expansion of industrial capabilities and the transition to a war economy. The New York Times wrote in April 2026 that Russia was ahead of the United States in building plants for the manufacturing of advanced drones.
Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in December 1991, the Arms industry entered a period of prolonged crisis. In the 1990s, the Government of Russia sharply reduced state defense procurement, many defense enterprises went bankrupt, and others reoriented themselves toward civilian production. At the time of the collapse of the Soviet Union, according to former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, the government was spending over $100 billion to support the country's military-industrial complex. With the advent of "market relations," newly elected Russian President [[[Boris Yeltsin]] launched privatization] and the creation of joint-stock companies], in which most enterprises associated with the military-industrial complex were sold-off and later liquidated due to unprofitability.
In April 2000, by decree of Russian President, Vladimir Putin, the state-owned military-technical cooperation intermediary, Russian Technologies, was merged with another intermediary, Promexport. This was the first step toward unifying state-owned military-technical cooperation intermediaries. On October 23, 2000, Putin signed a decree lifting restrictions prohibiting the transfer of more than 10% of shares in state-owned defense industry enterprises to the control of holding companies. The lifting of these restrictions allowed the government to begin establishing concerns in the arms industry.
On November 4, 2000, Putin signed a decree merging two intermediaries in the military-technical cooperation (Promeksport and Rosvooruzheniye) into a single intermediary, Rosoboronexport. Rosvooruzheniye's head, A. Ogarev, was dismissed. Former Promexport deputy director Andrey Belyaninov was appointed head of Rosoboronexport, and former Promexport head Sergey Chemezov was appointed deputy general director of Rosoboronexport. Chemezov and Belyaninov were former colleagues of Putin's in the First Chief Directorate of the KGB. On December 1, 2000, Putin signed a decree establishing the Committee of the Russian Federation for Military-Technical Cooperation with Foreign States (CMTC)—a federal executive body for the regulation and control of arms exports. Mikhail Dmitriev was appointed head of CMTC. State oversight of military-technical cooperation was transferred from the Ministry of Industry and Science of Russia, subordinate to Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov, to the Ministry of Defense, which reports directly to the President of Russia.
On October 17, 2001, Putin dismissed the head of the Ministry of Industry and Science of Russia, Aleksandr Dondukov. Deputy Prime Minister Ilya Klebanov was appointed minister.
On October 29, 2001, by decree of Putin, the Sukhoi Aviation Holding Company was established, which is wholly state-owned. Later, large stakes in the Sukhoi Design Bureau, Irkut Scientific Production Corporation, and Beriev Aircraft Company were transferred to Sukhoi Holding Company. The decree also transformed the Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aircraft Plant and the Novosibirsk Aircraft Production Association Plant into joint-stock companies, with the majority of their shares transferred to Sukhoi Holding Company.
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Arms industry of Russia
The defense industry of Russia is a strategically important sector and a large employer in the Russian Federation. As of April 2025, it employs approximately 4.5 million people nationwide. It also accounts for 20% of all manufacturing jobs in Russia. Total defense spending in Russia reached 7.5% of GDP in 2023.
President Vladimir Putin considered the Syrian civil war to be a good platform for advertisement of the capabilities of Russian weapons capable of boosting Russia's military sales. Russia accounted for 21% of global arms sales in 2014–18, that figure dropped to 11% in 2019–23 (SIPRI's statistics). 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%. The Russian Industry and Trade Minister Anton Alikhanov claimed on 12 August 2024 that the Russian defense industry now employs about 3.8 million people.
International sanctions after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 have been ineffective in countering Russian arms manufacturing. Russian military production has steadily grown, with missile production now exceeded pre-war levels. Russia currently manufactures more ammunition than all NATO nations combined, estimated at seven times the amount of the West. It has doubled its annual tank production and tripled its artillery and rocket production from pre-invasion numbers. Russia's production costs are drastically lower than those of competing nations, costing about 10 times less to create an artillery shell than comparable NATO ammunition. As of 2024, Russia produces about 3 million artillery shells a year, nearly three times the quantity from the US and Europe. The Russian defense industry has also heavily increased its production of armored vehicles and UAVs since 2023. Russia's expanding arms production has been linked to its managed economy, with heavy state subsidization of unprofitable arms manufacturers prior to the 2022 invasion, in comparison with capitalist western nations with arms manufacturers geared towards maximizing shareholder profit. On 23 November 2024, the German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius stated that Russia has now fully switched to a "war economy" and produces in three months the weapons and ammunition that the European Union produces in a year. NATOs Secretary General Mark Rutte made the same assessment in January 2025. On 3 April 2025, General Christopher Cavoli said before the US Senate Armed Services Committee that Russia is replacing its extensive battlefield losses of equipment and munitions at an "unprecedented rate" due to the expansion of industrial capabilities and the transition to a war economy. The New York Times wrote in April 2026 that Russia was ahead of the United States in building plants for the manufacturing of advanced drones.
Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in December 1991, the Arms industry entered a period of prolonged crisis. In the 1990s, the Government of Russia sharply reduced state defense procurement, many defense enterprises went bankrupt, and others reoriented themselves toward civilian production. At the time of the collapse of the Soviet Union, according to former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, the government was spending over $100 billion to support the country's military-industrial complex. With the advent of "market relations," newly elected Russian President [[[Boris Yeltsin]] launched privatization] and the creation of joint-stock companies], in which most enterprises associated with the military-industrial complex were sold-off and later liquidated due to unprofitability.
In April 2000, by decree of Russian President, Vladimir Putin, the state-owned military-technical cooperation intermediary, Russian Technologies, was merged with another intermediary, Promexport. This was the first step toward unifying state-owned military-technical cooperation intermediaries. On October 23, 2000, Putin signed a decree lifting restrictions prohibiting the transfer of more than 10% of shares in state-owned defense industry enterprises to the control of holding companies. The lifting of these restrictions allowed the government to begin establishing concerns in the arms industry.
On November 4, 2000, Putin signed a decree merging two intermediaries in the military-technical cooperation (Promeksport and Rosvooruzheniye) into a single intermediary, Rosoboronexport. Rosvooruzheniye's head, A. Ogarev, was dismissed. Former Promexport deputy director Andrey Belyaninov was appointed head of Rosoboronexport, and former Promexport head Sergey Chemezov was appointed deputy general director of Rosoboronexport. Chemezov and Belyaninov were former colleagues of Putin's in the First Chief Directorate of the KGB. On December 1, 2000, Putin signed a decree establishing the Committee of the Russian Federation for Military-Technical Cooperation with Foreign States (CMTC)—a federal executive body for the regulation and control of arms exports. Mikhail Dmitriev was appointed head of CMTC. State oversight of military-technical cooperation was transferred from the Ministry of Industry and Science of Russia, subordinate to Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov, to the Ministry of Defense, which reports directly to the President of Russia.
On October 17, 2001, Putin dismissed the head of the Ministry of Industry and Science of Russia, Aleksandr Dondukov. Deputy Prime Minister Ilya Klebanov was appointed minister.
On October 29, 2001, by decree of Putin, the Sukhoi Aviation Holding Company was established, which is wholly state-owned. Later, large stakes in the Sukhoi Design Bureau, Irkut Scientific Production Corporation, and Beriev Aircraft Company were transferred to Sukhoi Holding Company. The decree also transformed the Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aircraft Plant and the Novosibirsk Aircraft Production Association Plant into joint-stock companies, with the majority of their shares transferred to Sukhoi Holding Company.