MOSCOW, July 5 (UPI) -- More than 100 million Kalashnikov assault rifles have been produced in 60 years, the head of the Russian arms export agency said Thursday in Moscow.
Russia sold 100,000 AK-103 Kalashnikov assault rifles to Venezuela in 2005, Sergey Chemezov, head of Rosoboronexport, said at a conference celebrating the weapon's 60th anniversary, RIA Novosti reported.
Counterfeit Kalashnikov rifles cause Russia to suffer major losses, he said.
"More than 30 foreign companies, private and state-owned, are continuing to manufacture poor-quality (Kalashnikov) rifles and it damages the reputation of the brand," Chemezov said.
Valery Varlamov, also with Rosoboronexport told Novosti, "The Russian economy suffers an annual loss of some $2 billion from worldwide counterfeit production of Kalashnikov assault rifles."
Forty-seven countries arm their troops with the AK-47 assault rifle, named after its designer, Mikhail Kalashnikov.
Chemezov said Russian small arms and ammunitions exports have increased to about $200 million annually, Novosti reported.
