At this year’s Paris Air Show, the director of the Russian Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation (FSMTC), Dmitriy Shugaev, told armadainternational.com that European Union (EU) and US sanctions had inspired the Russian defence industry.
The FSMTC is the powerful Russian government entity for military export policy and control. Mr. Shugaev said that Russia is the second largest exporter of military equipment in the world with sales in excess of $15 billion and he expected this to continue for the next two to five years. Asked what effect EU and US sanctions, that were imposed on Russia following its annexation of Crimea in March 2014, have had on the FSMTC’s export policy, Mr. Shugaev said that sanctions are unjustified and wrong and contrary to a free market, although he recognised that Russian companies are facing difficulties, and have had to adjust to the realities.
The Russian import subsistence system has given impetus to the engine, communications and electronics sectors for Russian manufacturers. Continued working with international partners has also increased to solve the sanction issues. European countries have been forced to forego opportunities of co-operating with Russian projects, and Mr. Sugaev said: “We did not burn the bridges. For us a stable military market is not about sanctions.”
by David Oliver
