If we compare the publications of the foreign press of today with the publications of at least 3 years ago, then the difference, as they say, is obvious. Large foreign media outlets and those trying to stay in their trend of the media at a lower and much lower level, vied with each other with materials and reports that the Russian army is a bloated colossus with feet of clay, that the Russian defense industry is on its way and finally drowned in bribery, and Russian equipment is a rusting rubbish, the exploitation of which is a risk to life, in the first and only place, for those who use it. Some passages of a similar nature were replaced by others, the cackle in the Western media stood like in a real stable, but suddenly … silence … and obvious bewilderment.
The first thing that made the partners, excuse me, shut up, was the staff with the very polite people who made it possible for the Crimeans and residents of Sevastopol to say their weighty word at the referendum, reducing the threat from the Maidan radicals to zero. As soon as they saw well-equipped and armed Russian servicemen behind the hillock on the screens of their TVs and gadgets, they must have immediately begun to re-read their own pearls "about rusty machine guns and leaky greatcoats."
The second thing that brought the "partners" into a real shock was the beginning of the counter-terrorist operation of the Russian Aerospace Forces in Syria. "Flying trash", as Western "experts" called Russian planes, suddenly showed what the Aerospace Forces of the Russian Federation really are. Hundreds of destroyed objects of terrorist infrastructure, countless liquidated militants, units of military equipment, warehouses with weapons and ammunition. At the same time, the strategic initiative was transferred from the hands of ISIS and Jabhat al-Nusra militants to the revitalized Syrian government army.
Caliber cruise missiles, high-precision aviation ammunition, the use of the S-400 anti-aircraft missile system to cover the Khmeimim airbase, the operation of Pantsir-S1 anti-aircraft missile and cannon systems, the use of the latest Su-35 multipurpose fighters in the skies of Syria. And also: the use of strategic bombers, unmanned aerial vehicles, new models of army aviation, radar systems, electronic jamming. - The actual ability to conduct effective combat operations using any type of weapon and without any loud shouts about the whole army of allies. As one of the most effective and effective operations - assistance in the liberation of Palmyra by the Syrian army.
Frankly speaking, it should be noted that even before the events described, not all foreign "partners" were very skeptical about the weapons produced by Russia. There remained and remain many of those who actually invest billions of dollars in the Russian defense industry, acquiring weapons and military equipment from Russian manufacturers. Take India, for example.
However, the events in Crimea and Syria forced even those who were ardent adherents of the mantra about "a colossus with feet of clay" and "a technological pit of the Russian defense industry" to comb their turnips. Igor Chemezov, General Director of Rostec Corporation, recently announced how much Russia has strengthened its position as one of the leading arms exporters in the world. In an interview with Kommersant-Vlast, the head of Rostec told about the growth in export volumes that has been observed in recent years.
As a comparison, here are a few important numbers. In 2000, Russia's arms exports totaled approximately $ 2.9 billion. At the same time, the package of orders from the country's defense industry barely reached $ 6.5 billion. Today, Russia sells arms and military equipment worth about $ 15 billion abroad. The total package of orders through Rosoboronexport has reached an absolute record in the entire history of its existence - $ 48 billion. At the same time, it is noted that today there is practically no dollar component in terms of Russian arms exports.
In connection with the anti-Russian sanctions imposed by the United States, the acquisition of military equipment and weapons from Russian manufacturers is carried out either in national currency or in euros, so that in the future, American structures, which are Washington's instrument to eliminate competitors, cannot use the US judicial machine for another fabricated case. After all, as is well known, an American court extends its jurisdiction (according to American laws) to any territory of the planet Earth where a transaction took place when paying using American currency. In other words, if country N acquired weapons from Russia for gray-green notes, then the United States can consider this as an argument for launching repressive measures against the companies involved in the deal - with the subsequent probable arrest of their representatives anywhere in the world (a package on the head - dungeons of a prison in Guam …). Nothing personal, just business … Eliminating competitors at any cost. Rosoboronexport's move to abandon dollar-denominated deals is clearly driving the US "partners" into white heat, because any non-dollar deal is also a small step towards denying service to the American 18-trillion national debt.
The growth in the volume of arms exports from Russia allows the state to consider the possibility of refusing to sell certain types of weapons abroad. If the same USA is ready, forgive me, to snatch “raw” F-35s to “partners” without actually starting to fully operate them at home, then Russia decides not to drive horses. And not because the weapons are "raw" and "unfinished", but precisely because, on the contrary, too separate samples are good and effective.
Speech, for example, about the operational-tactical complex "Iskander". More precisely, about his version of Iskander-E, which was originally planned to be exported. Saudi Arabia is expressing a clear interest in acquiring it, but Russia, referring to the prohibitive export list of allegedly offensive weapons, says to Riyadh: "no." And not only, it should be noted, the Saudis. We are also talking about Syria, whose president (Bashar al-Assad) has long declared his readiness to acquire Iskander-E.
Why is Russia refusing? First, you need to have a promising groundwork in terms of similar complexes with even more outstanding characteristics themselves. Secondly, complex negotiation processes are possible, during which it is also discussed that selling the Iskander OTRK to the Saudis and Syria at the same time is somewhat strange, and selling separately is even more strange. In the case of the sale of OTRK to Damascus, surprised faces will be made in Tel Aviv, with which Moscow is now all very warm. In the event of the sale of Iskander-E, Riyadh will have to explain itself to Damascus and Tehran, with which it is also warm and warm. Therefore, a Solomon solution was found - to postpone the export sale of Iskander, which will not only create a reserve for Russia itself, but also further stir up interest in the development of the military-technical complex.
For reference: in terms of arms exports, Russia ranks second in the world, behind the United States, but at the same time reducing the gap every year.
