Russia has $4.6B in military exports in 2016

MOSCOW, July 8 (UPI) -- Russia has exported $4.6 billion worth of armaments and military hardware in 2016, President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting of the Commission for Military Technology Cooperation with Foreign States.

"The exports of Russian-made weapons and military equipment have reached $4.6 billion, and our contract portfolio is worth more than $50 billion," Putin said at the meeting. "Russian weapons and military equipment have proven efficient and reliable in vastly different conditions."

The exports are operational in Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America, he said.

"Importantly, the geography of these deliveries is gradually increasing, new intergovernmental agreements are signed and bilateral working groups created," Putin said.

Rosoboronexport, the state-run arms export agency, reported last month that sales of Russian aircraft account for 47 percent of the country's military exports.

The involvement of Russian Su-34 and Su-24M bombers, the newer Su-30CM and Su-35 fighter jets, as well as Mi-24N and Ka-52 helicopters have spurred interest not only from the major arms importing countries with whom Russia has traded with before, but also from new buyers in the Middle East.