The latest figures released by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute show a precipitous decline in the volume of Russian weapons sales to the Chinese military. Although Beijing remains the single largest recipient of Russian arms, the figures show a 63 percent decrease in the value of major Russian weapons deliveries to China, which is the lowest level in a decade. The decrease contributed to a 29 percent reduction in Russia's overall export of major conventional weapons systems between 2006 and 2007. In addition, China and Russia have not signed any major new arms contracts in recent years and are in the process of completing past agreements. Russian defense firms have been counting on continuing orders from India to help cushion the decreasing opportunities in China. Although the Indian market appears to have some growth potential, major problems with past deals could lead New Delhi to decrease its future purchase of Russian weapons. The Indian military began buying large quantities of Soviet weapons in the 1960s, but has always complimented these purchases with European (and later Israeli) systems. In the last few years, the Indian government has begun acquiring some American-made armaments. U.S. defense contractors hope these sales to India will increase significantly in the future.
Past Problems Threaten Future Russian-Indian Arms Deals
