MOSCOW, December 12 (RIA Novosti) – Russia could quadruple its annual arms sales to $50 billion by 2020 in a race for the top spot on the global arms exporters list, a senior government official said Thursday.
“Not counting inflation, I think we could reach $50 billion [in arms exports] annually by 2020,” Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin told reporters in Moscow. “It is four times the current amount.”
Rogozin said there was no doubt that Russia would not only maintain second place on the list of top arms exporters but would also narrow the gap between second and first place, which is currently occupied by the United States.
The US sold $69.1 billion worth of weaponry to foreign customers last year, according to the US Department of Defense.
Russia became the world’s second-largest arms exporter in 2011, generating $13.2 billion in revenues.
Last year, Russia exported $15.2 billion worth of weaponry while adding Afghanistan, Ghana, Oman and Tanzania to a list of about 80 foreign customers.
