Arms exporter Rosoboronexport has presented plans for joint ventures on military equipment with the continent
Russian arms export agency Rosoboronexport is advancing several cooperation projects with African countries worth more than 50 billion rubles (over $560 million), RIA Novosti reported on Thursday, citing Aleksandr Mikheev, the agency’s director.
“Currently, we are working on several industrial cooperation projects with African countries, focused on the licensed production of small arms, ammunition, armored vehicles and fast combat boats,” Mikheev revealed this, speaking on the sidelines of the Egypt International Airshow.
The airshow will take place from September 3 to 5 at El Alamein International Airport in northern Egypt. It is a major exhibition that showcases the latest innovations in the aerospace industry.
According to the organizers, more than 100 countries and 300 companies will participate in the exhibition, as well as experts from the space, aeronautics and defense sectors. Russia will participate with a pavilion showcasing advanced weapons systems, including the Ka-52 reconnaissance and attack helicopter equipped with the Item 305E light multipurpose guided missile, the combat capabilities of the Pantsir-S1M, the Orlan-10E and Orlan-30 drones, etc.
The event was organized with the support of the Egyptian Ministries of Defense and Civil Aviation.
The head of the Russian arms export agency also stressed the growing importance of Africa and the Middle East in the company’s overall business. “The combined share of the Middle East and Africa countries in Rosoboronexport’s order portfolio exceeds 50%, which translates into more than $25 billion,” he said.
Mikheev revealed that more than 40 African countries are actively engaged in military-technical collaboration with Russia. “The order portfolio includes a very significant share of signed and executed contracts. This mainly concerns, of course, equipment, air force, air defense, helicopters, light weapons and electronic warfare.”
Last December, the head of Rosoboronexport said that African countries had purchased more than 30% of the weapons systems exported by Russia in 2023.
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The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute reported last year that Russia had overtaken China as the largest arms seller in sub-Saharan Africa, with a market share reaching 26% by 2022. Algeria, Angola, Egypt and Sudan were the main importers of Russian weapons to the continent, according to the report.
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