Washington Became a Victim of Sanctions Against Russian Arms Industry

Last week, the US House of Representatives approved the military budget for 2017. One of the sections of the document bans the Pentagon from doing any business with the Russian company, Rosoboronexport. Right now, this company is the government's only intermediary that deals with the import/export of military merchandise. This ban, even though active for years now, is not a problem for Rosoboronexport. Since 2011, Rosoboronexport has been a part of the government-owned corporation, Rostec, which is headed by Sergey Chemezov. Chemezov will be featured in the next episode of "The Work Day with Nail Asker-Zade" on Russia 24. The full episode will premiere on Tuesday at 10:05. For now, here's a small clip. Here is the most famous weapon in the world, the AK-47 assault rifle. Over 70 million guns have been manufactured over the past 70 years. This rifle is in the Guinness Book of Records and is still assembled only by hand. A lot of foreigners would like to be in this room. The entire product range of the Kalashnikov Group is presented here. It is prohibited to record some products, so we only show the allowed items. This is an actual weapon. This is a sniper rifle. It's heavy. Are American analogues lighter? No, they're not. They are more high-maintenance. They need to be stored in special cases. They must be cleaned after each shot. If there's even a hint of sand inside, it might jam. Our guns are reliable. Here, try this one, it's a little lighter. It's still kind of heavy. What will happen if it's dropped in a puddle? -Nothing. -Have you tried that? Yes, we have done numerous tests. They've been thrown into water... ...and into sand, they've even been run over by a car, an SUV. They still work perfectly. This rifle is from 1985. All the wooden parts have been removed, including the stock, handguard and pistol grip. They were replaced by highly durable polymers. Due to this upgrade, the rifle has become lighter while maintaining its reliability. Are you a good shot? I'm a decent shot if I may say so. -How about now? -Well, I don't want to toot my own horn or anything like that. That just wouldn't be right, now would it? Is it loaded? Yes, it is. Wow! When the USA and the EU fired off a few sanctions at Russia in 2014, they didn't know these shots would turn out to be nothing but blanks. Not only did Kalashnikov expand its export opportunities, it learned to manufacture parts they used to buy elsewhere. Even now, the US is loosening its sanctions, so they can purchase helicopter parts. We had almost no direct business with the US, except for the helicopters, that we... had manufactured for Afghan military needs. About 50 Mi-17 transport helicopters were manufactured and delivered. Today, we're facing the task of how to maintain them, so... The Americans have to cancel the sanctions against Rosoboronexport. So they can purchase spare parts. Despite the bans, Kalashnikov Group has plenty of buyers. Export has increased twofold. The company is understaffed due to large orders, so the company will expand its staff by 30% and the facilities will operate 24/7. Before, mostly sport hunting rifles were exported to America. The American market was the main market for the Kalashnikov Group. Unfortunately, this market was taken away from us. Americans are not happy with this arrangement. They would be glad to keep purchasing our guns. But unfortunately, for now, it's not possible. So, we had to find a new market for our products. That would be the Arab countries, South-East Asia and Latin America. Today, Rostec is not betting on war, but on peace. The upgrading of the military will be concluded by 2020. The company plans to reallocate 50% of its production for civilian needs. Our helicopters are exactly what foreigners need. In collaboration with China, Russia is planning to create the largest helicopter in history. This is a medical helicopter, equipped with all the necessities needed to save people's lives, even the critical cases. The Lytkarino Optical Glass Factory is a great example of how production goes from military to civilian. These days, they produce state-of-the-art glass for nuclear reactors. They are forged in special platinum vessels, weighing 130 kg each. We're going to see how the glass is poured. One of the furnaces is done. This is an order for India, by the way. For medical purposes, Rostec produces devices for measuring eye pressure, glasses for neurological surgeries and 3D microscopes. For example, here, a part is already being manufactured, while another part is still being developed. For instance, this little device. This device is simply attached to the body, where it measures the pulse, blood pressure, and even gives a cardiogram. Like this. It attaches to one's body and the information is passed onto a computer, plus, it show the location. One's location is determined through GLONASS, through GPS. Just like James Bond's? Practically, more or less, yes. And this is an X-ray for vehicles. So this is to check for weapons and drugs. Anything. You can check for anything. The vehicle passes through at 70 km/hr, the contents get scanned and the computer displays what's inside the vehicle. A sign of a new era are drones, which range from harmless toys to military robots. The drones that we manufacture here are used for surveillance and security purposes. There are new developments every day. Last year, the US tested an entire series of military drones. A few days later, Rostec announced the successful development of weapons that counter these drones. "Concern Radio-Electronic Technologies" has created an electronic warfare system which disables the drone's control system. The drone's integrated electronic system simply burns out and the drone becomes a piece of metal. Without its control system, it might simply fall. When did you develop this, if the Pentagon only recently presented theirs? We've been working on this project for some time now. Today, India, China, Arab countries and others want to purchase our rifles, air defense systems and tanks, as well as our technologies. Contracts signed by Rostec have reached the astronomical value of 46 billion dollars.