Last November marked the 20th anniversary of the founding of the Russian state arms export conglomerate Rosoboronexport. The company became part of the overarching Rostekhnologii Group in 2007, which was renamed ROSTEC in 2012. An interview with ROSTEC CEO Sergei Chemezov about the past, present and future of the company.
Mr. Chemezov, how has Rosoboronexport’s business developed in recent years?
Very good. The company has become a leading player on the international defense market and has achieved strong results. The most important
financial indicators, i.e. the order book and the value of deliveries, have increased fivefold since 2000. Since then, Russia has consistently ranked second among the world’s arms and defense exporters.
Can the successes also be expressed in figures?
Over the course of 20 years, Rosoboronexport has signed more than 26,000 contracts with partners in 122 countries and on all continents, supplying products worth the equivalent of more than 180 billion US dollars (151 billion euros). This would not have been possible without a high level of expertise, attention to trends and an eye for important customer needs.
How is business distributed across the individual divisions?
Foreign partners have received products worth more than 85 billion US dollars (71 billion euros) for their air forces, the equipment for air defense and ground forces has a volume of around 30 billion US dollars (25 billion euros) and a further 28 billion US dollars (23 billion euros) was spent on naval equipment.
Will it be possible to maintain this volume in the future?
That is our assumption. We even see good opportunities to further expand our market presence and intensify our cooperation with partners. Rosoboronexport will bring around 50 modern weapons systems and military equipment to the global market over the next five to seven years. At the same time, we will increasingly be able to offer comprehensive service packages as a “one-stop store”. This also includes the construction of infrastructure facilities, the provision of space services and the training of foreign specialists on our products.
Where will the focus be in the near future?
In any case, on tanks from the Armata base (image) and on fifth-generation fighter aircraft such as the Su-57E. In addition, the Ka-52K naval helicopter and the improved Mi-28NE as well as our air defense missile systems are also in high demand. Dual-use products such as special medical equipment for hospitals are also becoming increasingly important.
Click here to read the other articles in our “5 questions to” series.
