Russia stays second-largest arms exporter despite 64% plunge & four-year war

Russia claims its arms exports reached around $15 billion in 2025, despite lacking confirmed delivery data.

Russia has claimed it remained the world’s second-largest arms exporter in 2025, with arms sales worth around $15 billion, or 12.55 per cent of the global market, according to a new estimate by the Kremlin-backed Centre for Analysis of World Arms Trade (TSAMTO).The estimate follows Russian President Vladimir Putin’s statement in January that Russia had supplied military products to more than 30 countries in 2025, generating more than $15 billion in foreign-currency revenue.According to Defence Express, Russia has largely stopped publishing data on the fulfilment of arms-export contracts since 2022, meaning the $15 billion estimate is not based on confirmed deliveries but primarily on Putin’s statement about more than $15 billion in foreign-currency revenue.The latest data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), published on March, 2026, present a sharply different picture of Russia’s arms exports. SIPRI said Russia’s exports of major arms fell 64 per cent in 2021–25 compared with 2016–20, while its share of global arms exports dropped from 21 per cent to 6.8 per cent.SIPRI ranked Russia as the world’s third-largest supplier of major arms during 2021–25, behind the United States and France.

SIPRI said the fall in Russian arms exports was largely driven by substantial decreases in exports to Algeria, China and Egypt. At the same time, 76 per cent of Russia’s arms exports went to states in Asia and Oceania in 2021–25.Russia supplied major arms to 30 states and one non-state armed group during the period, but nearly three-quarters of its exports went to just three recipients, India, China and Belarus. India alone accounted for 48 per cent, making it Russia’s largest recipient of major arms.India took nearly half of Russia’s arms exportsIndia accounted for 48 per cent of Russia’s major arms exports in 2021–25, making it Moscow’s largest recipient by a wide margin. China and Belarus followed with 13 per cent each.During this period, India and Russia continued several major defence programmes. In December 2021, the two countries signed a Military Technical Cooperation Agreement for 2021–31, covering joint research, development, production and after-sales support for military equipment.India signed the contract for 6,01,427 AK-203 assault rifles, which are being manufactured in Uttar Pradesh by the Indo-Russian Rifles joint venture.In September 2022, the defence ministry signed a Rs 1,700 crore contract for additional BrahMos missiles with BrahMos Aerospace, the India-Russia joint venture.In 2024, India signed a Rs 13,500 crore contract for 12 Su-30MKI aircraft with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.In June 2025, defence minister Rajnath Singh and his Russian counterpart discussed expediting S-400 supplies, Su-30MKI upgrades and other critical military hardware.