MOSCOW, December 13. /TASS/: India may be the first foreign buyer of Russia’s most advanced S-500 ‘Prometei’ anti-aircraft missile system, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yury Borisov told the RBC TV Channel on Monday.
"Beyond a doubt, once we deliver this system to our troops, India will be the first on the list, if it expresses its desire to buy these advanced armaments," the deputy PM said, replying to a question about whether India would be the first country to purchase the Russian-made S-500.
The Russian vice-premier also said that he disagreed with the conclusions by experts of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) that the largest Russian weapon producers had seen the sales of their armaments dwindle on the global arms market.
"In this context, I do not agree with their conclusions because they fail to take into account many things that I know about. Secondly, our statistical data suggest that we have a stable book of long-term contracts topping $50 billion while $13-15 billion has been our annual export figure lately. Our leading importers have long-term contracts with us," the Russian deputy PM stressed.
Russia is ready to offer principally new armaments to the global arms market, Borisov said. "I mean innovations and air defense systems where we are among the world leaders. This also refers to the future Prometei. We offer actually the entire range of air defense systems on the market as compared to other countries, from man-portable surface-to-air missile systems to S-400 multirole launchers. They have proven their efficiency in practice on many occasions, including all the latest military conflicts. They enjoy demand on the market and customers buy them with pleasure," the deputy PM said.
SIPRI’s estimates
The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute published its annual 2020 report on December 6 covering the sales of arms and military services by the industry’s top 100 corporations. The report demonstrates that the sales of the Russian companies included in the top 100 have been on the decline for a third year in a row. In particular, these sales dwindled by 6.5% in 2020 to $26.4 billion from $28.2 billion in 2019 while nine Russian companies accounted for 5% of the sales by the top 100 corporations, according to the report.
S-500 air defense system
Russia’s Defense Ministry announced on July 20 that the S-500 air defense system conducted a successful test-launch against a fast-moving ballistic target at the Kapustin Yar proving ground. The test-launch confirmed the S-500’s stated operational characteristics.
The S-500 anti-aircraft missile system is designed to strike all existing and future aerospace attack weapons of a potential enemy at all altitudes and speeds. Russia has been training specialists to operate the S-500 since 2017. The Prometei is set to replace the S-400 ‘Triumf’ surface-to-air missile system.
