Russian defense exports hit record in 2009

DATELINE: MOSCOW Dec 23

Russia’s weapons exports for 2009 will be worth more than $8.5 billion, the head of the government’s arms trade agency said.

“The outgoing year will be the 10th year in a row when volumes of supplies of military-purpose products exceeded levels of the preceding year. According to preliminary estimates, the volume of exports of armaments and military equipment will exceed $8.5 billion,” Mikhail Dmitriyev, director of the Federal Service for Military Technological Cooperation, said at a awards ceremony on Tuesday.

“No financial crisis – not even the deepest one – can affect our exports of armaments and military equipment,” he said.

“The portfolio of contracts exceeds $40 billion,” Dmitriyev said.

Source: Interfax-AVN

The 40 billion dollar order book is the healthiest ever.