Hawking Exemplary-Producing Russian War Munitions

"Almost all of them [Russian-designed and -manufactured combat aircraft and drones, small arms, etc.] have been used more than once in real combat operations."

"Many of them are years, or maybe decades ahead of their foreign counterparts, and in terms of tactical and technical characteristics, they are significantly superior to them."

Russian President Vladimir Putin

"With the collapse of economic relations with the west, Russia is even more dependent on the arms trade than it was before, so it's not surprising that Putin is so keen to promote them to as many non-western customers as he can."

"The big problem for him is that Russia's war against Ukraine has been a disaster for Russian military credibility. Their performance has been a very poor advertisement for their weapons."

Ruth Deyermnd, senior lecturer, Department of War Studies, King's College London

"I'd be very concerned as a prospective buyer about the quality of the equipment and the ability of the Russian Federation industry to sustain it."

U.S. General Ben Hodges, former commander, U.S. army forces in Europe

Smoke rises after explosions at a Russian air base near Novofedorivka in Crimea on August 9.Reuters

 

According to General Hodges, Western sanctions imposed against Russia following its invasion of Ukraine, raise questions over Russia's ability to source components and provide maintenance for any weapons it may sell. When he was asked to assess which of Russia's weapons systems had performed most poorly in Ukraine, retired General Hodges cited U.S. defence officials concluding that Russia was suffering failure rates as high as 60 percent on some of its precision-guided missiles.

On Monday, however President Putin declared Russian readiness to sell advanced weapons to its allies globally, and to cooperate in developing military technology, even as the country is into its sixth month of conflict in Ukraine. A conflict during which the Russian military has seen serious losses and its overall performance has rated poorly. 

Beaten back from Ukraine's largest cities, the Russian military is making agonizingly slow headway with a heavy personnel cost attached to it in Ukraine's eastern provinces. A war which has so far reflected an unconvincing superiority for Russia's arms industry, much less its military personnel at every level of authority.

 

The Kremlin has made modernizing Russia's arsenal a key priority amid tensions with the West.Andrey Rudakov / Bloomberg via Getty Images

Russia, emphasized Mr. Putin, valued its good relations with Latin America, Asia and Africa; more than prepared to supply its allies with a full spread of weapons, from small arms to armoured vehicles, artillery, combat aircraft and drones. The offer was inclusive of high precision weaponry and robotics. Ranking second globally to the US. in its arms sales of roughly $15 billion annually, representing a fifth of the global export market, the Kremlin is anxious to increase its arms sales.

Just four countries -- India, China, Egypt and Algeria, account for 73 percent of those sales, from 2017 to 2021. Russia's struggles against a much smaller adversary in Ukraine could certainly undermine Mr. Putin's sales pitch. Ukraine, on the other hand, has made effective use of U.S.-supplied weapons, most particularly the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, while Russia has taken a series of major blows.

Including explosions at an airbase in the Russian-annexed Crimean peninsula a week ago and yet another mysterious series of explosions this very day. The airbase strikes saw at least eight aircraft destroyed on the ground, as reflected in satellite images. Despite which, Putin claims Russian forces and its Donbas region proxies were meeting all of their goals. "Step by step, they are liberating the land of Donbas", he said confidently.

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