Russia's state arms seller Rosoboronexport was set up in 2000 by Vladimir Putin and has since sold over $50 billion worth of arms, according to Rostec CEO Sergei Chemezov. It is the sole entity responsible for the supply and export of Russian arms and military equipment abroad. Early last month, Russia signed a $5.43 billion deal to supply India with five S-400 missile systems.

Russia sold $19 billion worth of weapons in 2018, according to a senior official from Rostec, the government-owned industrial giant that includes Russia's monopoly arms exporter in its vast portfolio.

"Over the past 18 years, Rosoboronexport has become one of the world’s leaders in the delivery of armaments and military hardware and has achieved record figures,” Chemezov was cited as saying by the state-run TASS news agency on Thursday.



“Today Russia confidently holds second place in the world by volume of military and technical cooperation,” Chemezov said, adding that in 2018, the country sold nearly 25 percent more arms than the year before.

Overall, Rosoboronexport signed an estimated 1,100 contracts worth an estimated $19 billion in 2018, according to Alexander Mikheyev, the deputy head of Rosoboronexport's aviation sector.

Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly cited Rostec CEO Sergei Chemezov as stating the $19 billion figure. In fact, the figure was given by Alexander Mikheyev, the deputy head of Rosoboronexport's aviation sector.