Russia's military hardware "enjoys high demand in the world. This year we will reach a level of $6 billion," Vladimir Putin told a meeting of the commission for military and technical cooperation.
Russia's state arms export monopoly Rosoboronexport, the country's sole state intermediary in the sphere of military hardware exports and imports, said earlier one of its priorities was to expand the geography, range and volume of Russian armament and equipment supplies to regional markets.
The company is completing talks on the sale to China of about 50 Su-33 Naval Flanker ship-borne fighters, worth $2.5 billion.
If successful, this will be Russia's second most expensive arms sale contract after a $3 billion agreement for the assembly of 140 Su-30MKI fighters in India by 2014 under a Russian license.
According to the Pentagon, China buys about 95% of its new weapons from Russia. Its 2006 Annual Report on the military power of the People's Republic of China said Russia remains the leading supplier of weapons to China, and continues to cooperate with the country on a variety of technical and logistics issues, enabling China to maintain and modernize its large military potential.
China has bought Su-27 Flanker fighters and Su-30 Flanker interceptors, AA-12 Adder medium-range air-to-air missiles, SA-10 Grumble, SA-15 Gauntlet and SA-20 Triumf surface-to-air missiles, 3M-54E (SS-N-27B) anti-ship cruise missiles, Kilo-class diesel submarines, Sovremennyi-class destroyers, Il-76 Candid transport planes and Il-78 Midas in-flight refueling tankers, according to Pentagon analysts.
The Pentagon said that in 2000-2005 China concluded a series of contracts on military hardware deliveries with Russia worth $13 billion, and has already received $11 billion worth of weaponry under the deals.
Russian government officials have said Moscow is not afraid of strong competition on the Chinese arms market if the EU lifts a ban on arms sales to China, imposed in 1989, following the repression of student demonstrations in Tiananmen Square.
Recently, however, several EU members, including France and Germany, have proposed the embargo be lifted because China has improved its human rights record.
South America is also a lucrative market for arms exporters. Russia will deliver the first two Su-30MK2 Flanker multi-role fighters to Venezuela by the end of 2006 under a $1-bln contract on supplies of 24 fighters and 30 helicopters signed in July prior to this year's visit to Russia by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.
Russian-made fighters will substitute American F-16 and French Mirage fighters currently deployed by the Venezuelan air force.
Moscow also intends to boost its military technical cooperation with African countries, including by establishing maintenance centers for Russian-made armaments and equipment.
The Soviet Union supplied arms to many African countries in the ideological standoff with the West, and Russia has been seeking to re-establish contacts under President Putin. Rosoboronexport announced it had signed deals worth $7.5 billion with Algeria in March.
Rosoboronexport earlier highlighted its strengthening cooperation with traditional African importers of Russian weapons - Algeria, Libya, Angola, Ethiopia and Uganda - as well as progress in cooperation with Morocco, Botswana, Namibia, Mozambique and Burkina-Faso.
The company has said it is proposing competitive projects on supplies of new armaments, as well as maintenance of old equipment.
In July this year, Washington imposed sanctions on Rosoboronexport and combat jet maker Sukhoi as part of U.S. efforts to stop the export of arms to Syria and Iran, a move the arms exporter said reflected unfair competition and resistance on behalf of some players on the world arms market.
The two companies, as well as several counterparts from India and North Korea, were accused of violating the U.S. Nonproliferation Act of 2000 by selling weapons to Iran. Russia denied any wrongdoing, saying all its weapons deals are in line with international regulations.
The sanctions were lifted in mid-November, with Washington's decision announced at a meeting of the U.S. and Russian leaders on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in the Vietnamese capital, Hanoi.
