Russia expanding African defense partnerships

Arms exporter Rosoboronexport has outlined plans for joint ventures regarding military equipment with the continent

Russian arms export agency Rosoboronexport is advancing multiple cooperation projects with African nations valued at over 50 billion rubles (over $560 million), RIA Novosti reported on Thursday, citing Aleksandr Mikheev, the agency’s head.

“Currently, we are working on several industrial cooperation projects with African countries, focusing on the licensed production of small arms, ammunition, armored vehicles, and fast combat boats,” Mikheev revealed, speaking on the sidelines of the Egypt International Airshow. 

The airshow is taking place September 3-5 at El Alamein International Airport in northern Egypt. The event is a major exhibition, showcasing the latest innovations in the aerospace industry.

According to the organizers, the airshow features participants from over 100 countries and 300 companies, along with experts in the space, aviation, and defense sectors. Russia is taking part, with a pavilion displaying advanced weapon systems, including the Ka-52 scout/attack helicopter equipped with the Item 305E light multipurpose guided missile, the combat capabilities of the Pantsir-S1M, the Orlan-10E and Orlan-30 UAVs, and others.

The event was organized with support from Egypt’s Ministries of Defense and Civil Aviation.

The head of the Russian arms export agency also noted the increasing importance of Africa and the Middle East in the company’s overall business. “The combined share of Middle Eastern and African countries in Rosoboronexport’s order portfolio exceeds 50%, which translates to over $25 billion,” he said.

Mikheev revealed that over 40 African nations are actively engaged in military-technical collaboration with Russia. “There is a very significant share of signed and executed contracts in the order portfolio. Mostly, of course, it is equipment, air force, air defense, helicopters, small arms, electronic warfare.”

Last December, the Rosoboronexport head said that African countries bought more than 30% of the weapons systems exported by Russia in 2023.

READ MORE: Russia to participate in Africa’s largest defense exhibition

The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute reported last year that Russia had overtaken China as the leading arms seller in sub-Saharan Africa, with market share growing to 26% as of 2022. According to the report, Algeria, Angola, Egypt, and Sudan were the top importers of Russian weapons on the continent.