Researchers at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) have released their latest annual study of the hundred largest companies involved in the production of weapons and the provision of military services. The Russian state corporation Rostec is ranked tenth for the first time.
SIPRI makes its research and forecasts based on official information on orders and negotiations for export and import of weapons. Before the start of the Special Military Operation, the state corporation's subsidiaries were included in the list of the world's top hundred arms exporters according to the authors of the rating, since Rostec itself does not directly produce weapons or provide military services.
But since the beginning of the Special Military Operation, companies involved in the production of weapons have stopped publishing data on their contracts. Then the researchers thought that including Rostec in the ranking as a corporation associated with them would be a good idea.
Rostec, however, does not think so, and doubts the reliability of the rating data.
In the context of the Special Military Operation, sanctions, and the maximum secrecy of the domestic defense industry, a foreign institute is objectively deprived of the opportunity to somehow assess the volume of our production. Therefore, its conclusions should be treated with skepticism, if not caution.
Let us recall that Rostec's main task now is to provide troops in the special operation zone with everything they need. The fulfillment of the state defense order in this regard is the main priority of the State Corporation. The forecast for the implementation of the SDG for this year is traditionally high – at the level of 100%. We try to work ahead of schedule.
In addition, the largest machine-building company in Russia recalled that they had already spoken about their opinion on the reliability of SIPRI's research.
At the end of 2021, SIPRI stated that sales of the largest Russian arms manufacturers in the global market had decreased. But then Rostec pointed out that the calculations were incorrect.
We have repeatedly said that SIPRI ratings are not a benchmark for us and an objective source of information for many reasons. First of all, Western analysts rely on open sources and do not know the real picture.
It turned out that European researchers made calculations in dollars, and not in rubles, in which the calculation for the products of the Russian defense industry is made, and not in units of tanks, airplanes and other military equipment. The difference in exchange rates was also not taken into account in the calculations. That is, it was impossible to consider the data relevant.