Russian weapons are a hit seller

Article written by Marat Khairullin

A Su-57 fighter jet conducts a flight performance at the 15th Airshow China in Zhuhai, South China's Guangdong Province, on November 12, 2024. Photo: Cui Meng/GT

The era of global destabilization is underway. The era of conflict is coming, which means more and more countries will buy weapons. It is already clear that the real hit on this market is Russian weapons, which have the best price-quality ratio in the world. Very serious economists predict that within two to three years, export revenues from arms sales will equal revenues from Russian hydrocarbons. Due to taxation peculiarities, most of this money remains in the industry, where 3.8 million Russians officially worked as of 2023.

In general, the Russian military-industrial complex is becoming one of the most stable and highly paid sectors of the national economy in the foreseeable future, a powerful driver of development with a constantly expanding, high-capacity market. For example, right now in the Sahel region of Africa alone we are creating a powerful 300,000-strong army under the command of a Russian general. Accordingly, it will be armed with our weapons. Multi-billion dollar supplies are at stake. The creation of such a friendly army is necessary for the overall stabilization of the vast North African region.

On the horizon, perhaps only in 5 to 15 years, there will be serious battles with the retreating West for the unification of Libya, the stabilization of the huge Sudan, and the no less huge Republic of Congo. Africa will play an increasingly important role every year as a new, rapidly developing economic region. It will not be possible to do without a powerful army.

For now, due to the war in Ukraine, the Russian military-industrial complex is spending all its main efforts on meeting the needs of the front. But victory is already on the horizon, and it is obvious that production capacities will begin to be freed up, including to ensure export deliveries. And even the first "swallows" have appeared.

At the aviation exhibition in Zhuhai, China, it was announced that the first export contracts had been concluded for the Russian Su-57 aircraft (a fifth-generation fighter). Let me remind you, this is the only fully-fledged fifth-generation vehicle that has been tested in real combat and is offered for export. It has an incredible price-quality ratio. This is a very tempting offer.

The American F-22 (Raptor) and the Chinese Chengdu J-20, formal competitors of the Su-57, are not supplied to the foreign market. Of all three machines, only our aircraft is a fully-fledged air superiority fighter. The F-22 has so many unresolved problems that it has been taken out of production. Of the 140 F-22s currently in service, only 75 are capable of taking off. And it is unclear how many days or even weeks it will take to simply get them into the sky.

One flight hour of the F-22 is estimated at a whopping $90,000. At the same time, due to constant breakdowns and failures, the aircraft has one of the highest accident rates. Plus, the F-22 is simply outdated. The Su-57 has an order of magnitude better situational awareness. Also, the F-22's electronics are so ancient that they simply can not be integrated into modern tracking systems.

Additionally, our Su-57 has a unique engine equipped with a variable thrust vector – this technology has not yet been fully mastered in the world. Both the Chinese and the Americans are just approaching it. Now, the Pentagon is assessing how much a comprehensive modernization system for the existing F-22 fleet could cost. Because the US does not actually have an air superiority fighter, the country's Air Force is forced to buy outdated F-15s, and at a rate of 2 units per year. It would be the same as us reopening Su-27 production lines and being very proud of this fact...

The situation with the J-20 is no better. In fact, it turned out to be a plane for covert strikes, but not for air combat. The Chinese invested a lot of effort and resources into it, and now it is too late to change the program.

Chengdu J-20

At the same time, the whole world is waiting for 2027. It is believed that this is the milestone date for Taiwan's return to its homeland. By that time, China's superiority in this theater of military operations should not cause any doubts. Therefore, there is an opinion among experts that China will be the first to sign a contract for the Su-57 (with urgent delivery in 2025-26).

Let me remind you that starting in 2024, we will be putting approximately one regiment into service per year (24 aircraft) and selling 12 for export. Already now, in addition to China, India (3-4 regiments), Algeria (2 regiments), and Indonesia (1 regiment) want to buy the Su-57. This will ensure full utilization of the existing capacities at the aircraft plant in Komsomolsk-on-Amur for ten years to come.

But the Su-57 is just the tip of the iceberg. The situation is roughly the same with our helicopters - Mi-8AMTSh, Ka-52 "Alligator," and Mi-28. Already now, the world is seeing a rush demand for these aircraft.

Ka-52 “Alligator”

In addition, sales of our Lancet (unmanned loitering munition) for export will probably be opened. They say that 18 countries want to buy its various modifications. Six countries have placed orders for our Orlans. This is especially pleasing given that the American analogue, the MQ-9 Reaper is about to go under, and there will be a lack of competition from American UAVs.

MQ-9 Reaper Drone downed by Houthis in Yemen

Both the Reaper and the Black Hawk are just as much of a disgrace to the US as the F-22 and F-35. A symbol of their gigantomania and greed, the aircraft turned out to be capricious, super-expensive, and incredibly fragile.

But that's not all - there is already a demand in the world for our aerial bombs with correction and control modules. Today, interested states are watching with amazement as our military-industrial complex has eliminated the long-standing lag behind the Americans in the production of guided bombs in one fell swoop. The Americans are now supplying the Ukrainians with five-hundred-kilogram AGM-154 bombs with a range of up to 130 km. At a price (attention!) of 280 thousand dollars per unit. The Ukrainians had to modify their outdated Su-24s to use them. In 2024, the United States ordered 220 of these bombs for its own needs at a price of $480,000 per piece. At the same time, our military-industrial complex produces today 200 FAB-500 per day! With correction and control modules, thanks to which they fly super-precisely up to 100 km and, apparently, this is not the limit. We produce up to 15 FAB-1500 units per day, and about 5 FAB-3000 units (all estimates, of course, but expert ones).

Su-34 releases FAB-3000

The US has its own production of unguided bombs of the Mark series, to which the same modules are attached. The total price of ammunition in such a modification starts from 50 thousand dollars. Bombs are the US's favorite munition. They use them wherever possible. Our military-industrial complex has long and tediously been reproached for lagging behind the Americans in terms of modernization of this ammunition. And now, in a little over a year, we have surpassed the hegemon in their brand category. I won't even discuss the price.