Russia’s Defense Ministry is ready to lend support to private manufacturers of arms, especially small arms and light weapons, Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov said on Wednesday.
“Considering the experience that our designers have accumulated in the field, they are well placed to compete on the world market,” he said in an interview with the Rossiiskaya Gazeta government newspaper to be published on Thursday.
“I have visited one firm - they have some pretty good models, in particular assault and sniper rifles” he said. “A handgun or an automatic weapon is not such a complicated product.”
Private firms manufacturing small arms and light weapons are already appearing in Russia, the minister said.
“It can not be ruled out that one day they will produce a better rifle than some well known companies,” Serdyukov said.
