Defense industry of Russia

The defense industry of Russia is a strategically important sector and a large employer in Russia. Combined, the US and Russia account for 57% of all major weapons exports. The Russian government has announced its intention to restructure the debts of Russian military–industrial complex in the amount of 750 billion rubles, half of this amount will be written off, then Deputy Prime Minister, Yuri Borisov said, speaking at a board of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Tatarstan. President Vladimir Putin considers the Syrian Civil War to be a good platform for advertisement of the capabilities of Russian weapons capable of boosting Russia's military sales. Russia accounted for 22% of global arms sales in 2013-17, that figure dropped to 16% in 2018-22 (SIPRI's statistics). Russia's defense industry employs 2.5 – 3 million people and accounts for 20% of all manufacturing jobs in Russia. Sevmash directly employs 27,000 people. The combined revenue of the industry's 20 largest companies in 2009 was $12.25 billion. Russian shipbuilders and naval missile manufacturers survived the difficult period of transition from a command to a market-driven economy, and kept skills needed for the development of advanced combat systems. With recently won orders for Project 955 and Project 885 submarines, the share of domestic military orders in Sevmash's portfolio has risen to above 70%. Visiting Severodvinsk, then-deputy premier of the Russian Government in charge of defense industry, Dmitry Rogozin said the local shipbuilders are contracted to build eight fourth-generation nuclear submarines by 2020, and that more orders are coming. He further said the earlier program for scrapping third-generation submarines is being revised so that "these vessels will get newer missiles and be subjected to a series of repair efforts enabling them to serve for another seven years". In November 2011, the Russian defense ministry awarded Sevmash contracts for construction of four Project 955A Borey-A strategic underwater cruisers armed with the Bulava intercontinental ballistic missiles.