China Arms Exports

China has failed to expand military exports

TSAMTO, November 16. Major importer of Chinese weapons is Pakistan, which, according to TSAMTO, in 2002-2009. imported from China arms in the amount of 1.979 billion USD, representing 42.4% of total exports of defense products by China in this period (4.665 billion dollars).

According to the existing portfolio, the next 4 years (2010-2013.) Proportion of Pakistan's total military exports of China will further increase and reach 4.421 billion USD, or 68,2% of the total projected military exports in this period (6.481 billion dollars ).

In 2002-2009. China exported weapons to 36 countries. Significantly inferior to Pakistan, the second place in the structure of China's exports in 2002-2009. Egypt holds (502 million dollars), third place - Iran (U.S. $ 260.5 million). Among the major importers of Chinese arms from the period of 2002-2009 years. also includes Nigeria (251 million dollars), Bangladesh (221 million dollars), Zimbabwe (203 million dollars), Kuwait ($ 200 million), Jordan (185 million dollars), Venezuela (140 million dollars) and Malaysia (100 million dollars) .

In the regional aspect in the last 8 years (2002-2009.) Pacific region's share in the overall balance of military exports of China amounted to 56%, the Middle East - 25,4% of "black" Africa (countries located south of the Sahara Desert) - 12 , 9%, South America - 4,3%, North and North-East Africa - 1,4%. China for the last 8 years failed to achieve progress in the five regions - North America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, the countries of the former Soviet Union and the countries of Central America and the Caribbean.

It should be noted that the existing portfolio of orders for delivery in 2010-2013. China has 5 new customers (deliveries to these countries in 2002-2009. not implemented). This Argentina (order book for the period 2010-1013 years. Is 2.8 million dollars), East Timor (28 million dollars), Morocco (300 million dollars), Saudi Arabia ($ 200 million) and Ecuador (120 million dollars).

Current portfolio of orders with the delivery of defense products for 2010-2013. first place in the structure of military exports of China is Pakistan - 4.421 billion dollars. Second place is occupied by Myanmar (700 million dollars or 10.8%). Closes the three leaders of Venezuela (492 million USD or 7,6%).

The following places in the structure of the military of China's exports for delivery in 2010-2013. occupy Morocco (300 million dollars), Saudi Arabia ($ 200 million), Ecuador (120 million dollars), Bolivia (57.9 million dollars), Indonesia (36 million dollars), Thailand (35.7 million dollars), Kenya ( 30 million dollars), East Timor (28 million dollars), Peru (24.2 million dollars), Bangladesh (18 million dollars), Ghana (15 million dollars) and Argentina (2.8 million dollars).

More information can be found in the Yearbook TSAMTO-2010 "by Statistics and analysis of global trade in weapons in 2002-2009.

On the contrary.......

Nov. 16 (Bloomberg) -- Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China announced its first 100 C919 passenger-plane orders, breaking Airbus SAS and Boeing Co.’s stranglehold on the world’s second- largest market for new aircraft.

General Electric Co.’s leasing arm and China’s big three domestic airlines were among the customers for 168-seat plane, state-controlled Comac said in a statement issued at the Zhuhai air show in southern China today. It didn’t say how many aircraft each customer ordered.

The development of the nation’s first large passenger aircraft could damp sales for overseas planemakers in China, which may need $480 billion worth of aircraft by 2029, according to Boeing. Comac expects to sell more than 2,000 C919s worldwide over 20 years in competition with Boeing’s 737 and Airbus’s A320, the aircraft-makers’ most popular models.

“The aircraft is of national importance,” said Harry Chen, a Shenzhen-based analyst at Guotai Junan Securities Co. “But, as it’s only on the drawing board so far, we still have to see how fuel-efficient and less expensive it really is.”

The C919’s Chinese customers include Air China Ltd., China Southern Airlines Co., China Eastern Airlines Corp., HNA Group Co. and CDB Leasing Co., according to the statement.

China first announced plans for the C919 in 2008, as it seeks to develop a global competitive aerospace industry. The 70-seat ARJ21, China’s first regional jet, is also due to make its maiden exhibition flight at this week’s Zhuhai show.

China will trail only the U.S. in plane orders over the next 20 years, according to Boeing.

--Liza Lin. With assistance from Wing-Gar Cheng in Hong Kong and Irene Shen in Shanghai. Editors: Neil Denslow, Michael Tighe

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-11-15/china-wins-100-c919-orders-breaks-airbus-boeing-grip.html

nightcrawler wrote:On the contrary.......

Chinese airlines buying civil airliners does not constitute an expansion of military exports. What part of MILITARY and EXPORT do you not understand?

Russian exports to China continue:

http://english.ruvr.ru/2011/01/08/39084982.html

Russia will supply China with a third air-based radar platform “Puma” in 2011.

According to the head of the designer group Gennady Verba, the “Puma” complexes can be used both for air defense and surveillance purposes.

The platforms fly at altitudes of up to 3000 meters and work non-stop for 30-35 days.

Further info on the Puma system from the maker:

http://www.rosaerosystems.pbo.ru/english/products/puma.html

...looks like a neat system.
It provides the low level radar coverage of an AWACs and adds communications hub that can be used as a communications relay system for an area of 100,000km square and can operate just under a month at a time.

No wonder the Chinese are buying these... wonder how many the Russian military have bought?

These things would be good for monitoring long empty mountainous borders... add an electro optics package and you have an eye in the sky to direct border patrols to smugglers and criminals crossing border areas.

ANKARA — Turkey is strongly leaning toward adopting a Chinese long-range anti-missile and air defense system, Turkish procurement officials said, even though it may be impossible to integrate the system with its existing NATO architecture.

One senior procurement official familiar with the program said the Turkish government has concluded that the Chinese proposal was technologically satisfactory, allowed technology transfer and was much cheaper than rival proposals.

The decision to select the Chinese contender awaits final approval from Defense Minister Ismet Yilmaz and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The decision would be finalized and officially announced at the next meeting of the Defense Industry Executive Committee, chaired by Erdogan, which oversees major procurement decisions. No date has been set for the meeting.

In January, Turkey restructured the $4 billion program, dubbed T-Loramids, which had originally been constructed as an off-the-shelf purchase. The contenders’ bids would remain valid, but the Undersecretariat for Defense Industries (SSM) procurement office would ask bidders to submit parallel, co-production solutions. Erdogan ordered the launch of feasibility studies on “potential co-production” of the system.

T-Loramids consists of radar, launcher and intercept missiles.

The same month, SSM wrote to the bidders and asked them to send letters of intent for any co-production deal. The bidders are a U.S. partnership of Raytheon and Lockheed Martin, offering the Patriot air defense system; Russia’s Rosoboronexport, marketing the S-300; the China Precision Machinery Export-Import Corp., offering its HQ-9; and the Italian-French consortium Eurosam, maker of the SAMP/T Aster 30.

T-Loramids, has been designed to counter both enemy aircraft and missiles. Turkey has no long-range air defense systems.

But diplomats and analysts warn that Turkey may not be allowed to integrate the Chinese-Turkish system into Turkey’s mostly NATO-owned early warning assets.

“I cannot comment on how the [US] administration would react to that. But I can tell you that integrating a Chinese or Chinese-Turkish air defense system into NATO assets may not be a good idea,” a US diplomat here said.

A Western industry source said that US officials have warned the Turkish bureaucrats several times about the potential difficulties in achieving interoperability if Turkey decided to go for a Chinese or a Russian architecture.

“I see that the Turks remain defiant. But I do not think it would be practically possible to integrate either the air defense or the anti-missile components of the planned Turkish-Chinese architecture into NATO radars,” a London-based Turkey specialist said. “The Turks would have the same problem if they chose the Russian system, but I think for the Americans, China represents a more direct threat.”

About half of Turkey’s network-based air defense picture (radars) has been paid for by NATO, said a Turkish defense official familiar with NATO work. They are part of the NATO Air Defense Ground Environment. He did not comment on potential problems if Turkey wanted to make the planned system interoperable with these assets.

To defend against missile threats, Turkey needs satellite and dedicated ballistic missile detection and tracking radar like the NATO radar deployed last year in Kurecik.

For the anti-aircraft component, Turkey needs an overall picture for data fusion. The Patriot system, for instance, can detect threats with its own radar. So does the Chinese system. But without integrating into a full air picture, the Chinese system could not work efficiently, officials said.

“Turkey can always decide to build a stand-alone system. But in that case, abstracting the air defense system from NATO assets would mean that Turkey will lose half of its radar capabilities,” said one defense analyst here.

He said Turkey would need interface data to make its own air defense architecture interoperable with NATO assets, primarily data on the identify friend or foe system.

“This is top secret and cannot be installed into any Chinese system,” the analyst said.

Another major question, he said, is “how would Turkey have in its possession a made-in-China IFF system, and how would that system be integrated into its fleet of F-16 aircraft?

“There is an important degree of incompatibility here and all in all any Chinese-Turkish co-production program would look problematic,” he said.

http://www.defensenews.com/article/20130623/DEFREG04/306230007/Turkey-May-Adopt-Chinese-Air-Defense-System

As far as i know Greece says that it has integrated their S-300's

Anyway, How's S-300P when compared to HQ-9?

US-Sanctioned China Firm Wins $4bn Tender for Turkey Missile Defence System

Turkey has awarded a contract for a long-range air and missile defence system to a Chinese firm that is sanctioned under the US after rejecting bids from rival firms in the US, Russia and Europe.

The contract worth $4bn (£2.5bn, €3bn) was awarded to China Precision Machinery Import and Export Corp (CPMIEC), according to the Turkish defence minister.

In the tender, state-owned CPMIEC's FD-2000 system defeated the Patriot system developed by US firms Raytheon and Lockheed Martin, the S-400 system of Russia's Rosoboronexport and the Samp-T developed by Italian-French consortium Eurosamrs.

China's Rising Defence Sales

China replaced the UK as the fifth largest arms supplier during the 2008-2012 period, according to research by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri).

The volume of Chinese exports of major conventional weapons rose by 162% between 2003-2007 and 2008-12, and China's share of the volume of international arms exports increased from 2 to 5%, Sipri said. Pakistan accounted for 55% of Chinese arms exports during the period.

China-made arms are now comparable to those made in Russia, the US and Europe, according to experts. The country has revealed several new locally-made weapon systems after decades of high military spending and promotion of local contractors. It has also significantly decreased dependence on arms imports.

CPMIEC was established by the former China Ministry of Space and Industry in 1980 for marketing arms produced under the state jurisdiction. It currently markets missiles produced by state-owned firms, the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp. and the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp.

Because of CPMIEC's sales of missile technology to Iran and Pakistan, the US sanctioned the firm and its subsidiaries multiple times and barred all US persons and entities from engaging in business with it.

In 2003, Washington extended sanctions on the firm for selling arms to Iran. In February, the US announced sanctions on the company for violating the Iran, North Korea and Syria Nonproliferation Act.

Meanwhile, Turkey that has the second-largest deployable military force in the NATO alliance is looking to build its own air and missile defence systems. Since 2012, the country has been relying on the US built Patriot air and missile defence system deployed by NATO.

Haha, must be a sore rub in the face for US and EU weapon manufacturers.

It's like they woke up in the morning and smelled the napalm. On completely equal terms, including tech transfer and everything else - a Chinese-made system has beat their over-expensive, fragile, less mobile, technically unimpressive Western equivalents
And Turkey is not a country like Poland or the Czech Republic - it's independent, it has options and it will use them.

They are taking the fall hard and threatening that Turkey would have to operate this Chinese system completely separately from the NATO network; despite the fact that Greece's Russian S-300 systems, as well as other Soviet-era air defense systems operated by many ex-Warsaw Pact members - are integrated into the NATO air defense network just fine.

Nice pictures from China MIC


LINK

http://tuoitre.vn/tin/the-gioi/20141008/trung-quoc-tay-choi-moi-cua-thi-truong-vu-khi/655543.html (originally in Vietnamese)

Translation:


Sri Lanka president took a look at the captured Tamil Tigers weapons. It is said that these weapons are originated from China, and were illegally bought from Cambodia.

Report of Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) on March 2014 claimed that China's weapon export achieved a great growth, 212%, in the 2009-2013 period, compared to the past years.

Beijing occupies 2-6% share of the international weapon market, sells weapon to 35 countries over the world, mostly the developing ones.

Global Times said that the growth of China's military industries is mainly due to the low cost of Chinese weapons compared to other great exporters, rather than the quality. However, the analysists commented that, such growth is the testimony for China's potential in weapon exporting.

Chinese military professionals are confident about China's role, they claimed that if the West are not eager to sell the advanced military facilities to South East Asia, China has the capability to do that. The Global Times quoted a speech of one Chinese analysist claimed that "South East Asia market will be the potential place for Chinese weapons in the future".

Sina website claimed that Beijing is marketing its weapons in South East Asia, and when the railway system in Laos, Thailand, Myanma and Yunnan is finished, weapon contracts in such countries will be much more convenient.

According to Siemon Waesemann, analysist of SIPRI, China also seek the African market and it is using the "economy tactics" in order to pave the ways for future military contracts in Africa.



However, Mr. Sơn Tú Phát(*), Chinese analysist in the PLA admitted that China has just reached the level of normal, low-tech weapons, and China is still inferior to the U.S., due to the lack of weapons with independent copyrights.

Thailand used to buy China's MBT-2000 but then it choose Ukrainian Oplot instead, because MBT-2000 usually suffers from mechanical failures and materials for replace are not available. In Malaysia, MBT-200 was also defeated by Poland's PT-91M and Serbia's M84.

However, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Myanma like China's MBT-2000. China and Pakistan also cooperated to provide military assiatance to other countries like như Bangladesh.

Currently, China has developed the new MBT-3000, based on MBT-2000, and China expects it can serves Beijing's ambitions in South East Asia market.

China also exports the ATGM technologies, especially HJ-8. In South East Asua, Malaysia has bought Pakistan ATGM which is based on Chinese HJ-8.

China also exported MANPADS to Indonesia and Thailand. Myanma is also planning to buy China's MANPADS.

China is trying to restore its dominance in the market of heavy weapons, using its advantages in cost and price compared to other competitors.

Jane’s Defense claimed that Beijing is marketing submarines, anti-ship missiles, warships, unmanned aircrafts to countries like Brunei, Thailand, Indonesia.

(*) This man is Chinese, not Vietnamese. Chinese names and words can be read in Vietnamese Hán-Việt pronounciation.

Much of the so called captured weapons in Afghanistan were actually chinese made, they have a long history of being used by the west to supply the wests allies in a way that can be denied.

In the early 1980s most Muj had 303 rifles left over from the various British invasions of the country, but fairly quickly AKs suddenly were everywhere. The thing was that a large proportion of the weapons either had Chinese markings or had Arab markings and came from stocks Israel had supplied via the CIA through Pakistans ISI to the afghans.

there will always be a need for cheap simple weapons and if China wants that market it wont have too much competition... but the market is limited as eventually most countries realise that firing an entire 80mm rocket pods worth of unguided rockets is effective against unseen area targets, but a simple laser guidance package on the rockets and all of a sudden instead of using all 20 rockets per target and needing 2-4 pods to make sure the job is done, you can fire 2-3 rockets and take out point targets at extended ranges much more cheaply than resorting to more expensive ATGMs.

Three WZ-10 Attack Helicopter to Pakistan, more to follow

http://nation.com.pk/national/03-Jan-2015/pakistan-likely-to-buy-china-s-z10-helicopters

BEIJING- Pakistan’s closest friend China is expected to give another gift this year, in shape of their famous helicopter Z10. According to reports, three Z10 helicopters are expected to be included in Pakistan Army aviation fleet, which will be helpful in cleaning the terrorism in the county.

Pakistan showed interest in purchasing Z10 helicopters, sources said. The helicopter is capable of targeting the enemy with a range of 3 to 4 kilometers without coming in reader. It is also capable of targeting in the air as well as on ground from air.

With the induction of Z10, Pakistan Army’s capability of targeting the terrorists will increase. Pakistan is already using the helicopters effectively in the war against terrorism.

On the other hand Pakistan is also interested to by Russian’s Mi-30 helicopters as well. This will not only strengthen the defence of the country but also help force to counter-terrorism effectively.

China has supplied its new generation HQ-9 air defense systems and its Pterodactyl (Yilong-1) UAV to Uzbekistan

China Overtakes France in Arms Export After Paris Failed With Mistral Deal

France lost its position as arms exporter, after it failed to deliver two Mistral-class ships to Russia at the end of 2014. Now, China has overtaken France and became the third largest arms exporter.

After France failed to keep its promises and deliver Mistral ships to Russia last year, China has overtaken France and became the third largest arms exporter, according to a study conducted by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

Russia was the world’s second largest arms exporter in 2014, while the United States remained on top.

The study revealed that France would have been on the third place ahead of China and Germany, if at the end of 2014 the country delivered two Mistral ships to Russia, as it had promised to do under a $1.5 billion worth deal in 2011.

Over the last decade, China increased its arms export by 143 percent, which allowed the country to become the third largest arms supplier, ahead of France, Germany and Britain.

The United States remains the largest supplier of arms with 31 percent of all global arms export. The second place belongs to Russia with 27 percent of arms export.

In 2011, France agreed to deliver two Mistral-class ships to Russia under a $1.5 billion deal. One of the two ships, Vladivostok, was supposed to be delivered in November 2014. However, French President Francois Hollande decided to suspend the Mistral delivery due to Russia’s alleged interference in the Ukrainian crisis.

Read more: http://sputniknews.com/military/20150317/1019605110.html#ixzz3Ug8IiwoH

Nice

Turkey is going SCO way ....

China confirms the signing of a contract for the supply of HQ-9 SAM missile to Turkey

Viktor wrote:Nice  

Turkey is going SCO way ....

China confirms the signing of a contract for the supply of HQ-9 SAM missile to Turkey

Basically China is selling the export model of HQ 9 called FD-2000.

I suspect the only reason why Turkey chose the FD-2000 over the S-400 was the price factor.

Professor Robert Farley of the Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce at the University of Kentucky said in his recent piece for Washington-based conservative magazine the National Interest that China will overtake Russia’s position in the global arms market within the next 10 years.

In his article, Farley said that China is doing well with sales of its FC-1/JF-17 multirole fighters to overseas markets via the assistance of Pakistan. Beijing is also developing its second stealth fighter known as J-31 for foreign consumers. Farley added that although Russia is making profits through providing its Flankers (the Su-30 family of aircraft) to clients in Southeast Asia, the future does not look bright for its arms exports as it has only one type of fifth-generation stealth fighter, the PAK-FA, in development.

Farley then moved to submarines. Admitting that China would never be able to build its own advanced submarines without the transfer of Kilo-class submarines from Russian between the 1990s and 2000s, the author said that Chinese submarines today are fully capable to compete with their Russian counterparts. “Russia still holds the considerable advantage of years of experience in the field, but that gap looks set to close as China delivers more vessels,” said Farley.

As for air defense systems, Farley believes that China will certainly catch up with Russia over time. “Moscow perhaps realized that Beijing has advanced so far with its own air defense technology that preventing a final transfer probably would not maintain its advantage,” said the author. Russia is still very likely to sell more advanced air defense systems to states surrounding China such as Vietnam and Malaysia, yet the technology gap is closing fast.

The author said the Russia is going to be left with advantages in only two fields, that of main battle tanks and cruise missiles. The professor said that the Russian team responsible for the development of the Armata tank has made it known that they do not want the vehicle sold to China. This will prevent China from gaining the technology it needs to surpass Russia. Since India stopped its Arjun main battle tank line, it is likely to become a new market for Russian tanks since it will not buy them from the Chinese.

Because many potential consumers of Southeast Asia have territorial disputes with China, they are unlikely to buy cruise missiles from Beijing as well. “Russia may profit from a lack of desire to sell missiles to potential enemies of Beijing,” said Farley. Still, he added that China and Russia are going to compete with each other very hard for the cruise missile markets in Africa and Latin America over the next 10 years.

http://idrw.org/can-china-overtake-russias-position-in-the-global-arms-market/

The problem with the Americans is that they actually believe in this sort of stuff - their own propaganda.

The US Government, via intelligence services and its ties to the media oligarchs/magnates of the country; heavily influences what sort of stuff the country reads; New York Times, National Interest, Washington Post, Time Magazine, etc...

And then the very same US Government, as well as the oligarchs, intelligence heads, etc... read those same newspapers, journals, magazines, etc... and are influenced by them.

It's continous cycle of circular reasoning and circular propaganda.

China overtaking Russia's position?
It's actually more likely that Russia will overtake much of the West's positions; in fact it is already happening to some degree; Russian arms exports have shown the most growth over the last 10 years by far compared to any of their competitors. And at whose expense have those Russian exports grown?
Of course, admitting something like this would go against the.. National Interest so to speak, so instead they just come up with BS.

China will probably overtake some of Russia's positions in the lower-end scale of things; not only has its technology got better but it can afford to give out cheap loans, accept defered payment and offer all sorts of enticements in exchange for arms deals. For Africa, South Asia and some other regions - these sorts of flexible conditions would be very tempting.

Albeit, it should be said; that Russia has secured many arms sales to poorer countries via the same sort of schemes of interest-free loans, political enticements, flexible payment methods, etc... Among them in recent years - Angola, Uganda, Bangladesh, Egypt, Lebanon, Nigeria, Peru, Columbia, Sudan, Sri Lanka, Syria, Kenya, Nicaragua, Afghanistan and so on.

I was refraining myself for past few days on this " China is snattching Russian export market and Russia should look for new partners instead of India "

Well as pythin said every paper is a propaganda and sets an agenda . What do you think chinese weapons perfroming same function at a cheap rate will not disrupt american weapon export market ? Look at Turkey HQ missile shield .


Rising China arms exports threaten US influence worldwide

No way, its more possible for Europe defense industries rather than for China

China weapons of mass consumption

sepheronx wrote:

max steel wrote: China weapons of mass consumption

Cant read it. Demanding for me to subscribe.

Below are the contents of this link :

China’s Weapons of Mass Consumption

What will happen when Beijing floods the world with cheap aircraft and warships?


In August 2014, China’s state-owned Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding Co. launched a new frigate, a small warship often used for submarine warfare or coastal defense, into Shanghai’s Huangpu River. As the frigate slid into the water, a casual passerby might have assumed that it was simply another ship in the Chinese Navy’s rapidly growing fleet. Yet its intended recipient was not China’s navy, but Algeria’s — the first of three that Algeria had ordered from China at a Malaysian arms expo in 2012.

China has long been one of the world’s leading suppliers of small arms, but its sale of the frigates was not an anomaly. As the independent Stockholm International Peace Research Institute reported in mid-March, China is now the world’s third-largest arms exporter, having overtaken France and Germany, and trailing behind Russia and the United States. In 2010 to 2014, not only was China’s share of global arms sales nearly double that of the previous five-year period — 5 percent as against 3 percent in 2005 to 2009 — but its exports of major weapons platforms rose by 143 percent compared to the previous half-decade.

Over the next decade, advanced weapons platforms — once the purview of Western and Russian defense industries — will flood the arms market as China, and to a lesser degree India, become global suppliers. Developing countries that once could only afford secondhand Cold War-era weapons will soon be able to acquire everything from modern fighter aircraft and warships to precision-guided munitions, all without breaking the bank. And not unlike with consumer electronics, the quality of these platforms will increase over time, even as their prices fall.

Driving this change is the growth of the defense industries in not just China but also India, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi has prioritized reforming the defense sector to minimize reliance on foreign suppliers as well as to encourage exports. Initially unable to produce advanced weaponry on their own, yet aware of the risk of relying upon foreign suppliers, these countries have aimed to gradually attain self-sufficiency in defense procurement.

As a first step, they have been acquiring a wide variation of the same type of weapons over the past few decades. For example, among fighter aircraft, China acquired at least seven different types, while India acquired six different types. Although cost-inefficient and operationally challenging, such sampling allowed China and India to test and evaluate the technologies most appropriate to their operational needs.

They then poured considerable resources into reproducing these technologies by absorbing key foreign weapons technologies while investing heavily in indigenous weapons research and development programs. The result was the ability to produce technologies that, while perhaps not cutting-edge, were considerably more advanced than what they could have produced just a few years earlier. This strategy has enabled the Indian Navy to purchase heavily from domestic manufacturers. And the PLA Air Force now operates hundreds of indigenously developed J-10 fighter aircraft and is in the midst of testing prototypes of the J-20 and J-31 stealth fighters. If they are successful, China will join the United States as the only other country in the world with such capabilities.

Chinese weapons systems are often much cheaper than those of competing exporters. And while they’re not better than Russian or U.S. alternatives, they are often good enough.Chinese weapons systems are often much cheaper than those of competing exporters. And while they’re not better than Russian or U.S. alternatives, they are often good enough. For example, in September 2013, Turkey surprised many observers by selecting the Chinese air and missile defense system over U.S., Russian, and Italian-French offerings. Although the Chinese system is less reliable than both the U.S. and Russian systems — and incompatible with other NATO systems — the price was right: At $3.4 billion, it was almost certainly priced considerably lower than its Russian and U.S. counterparts.

Since 2011, China has also sold the Wing Loong, an armed drone, to several countries in Africa and the Middle East, including Nigeria, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates. At an estimated $1 million per unit, it provides capabilities similar to that of the U.S. Predator drone at less than a quarter of the cost. As Marwan Lahoud, then the head of marketing and strategy at the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company, told the New York Times, “China will be competing with us in many, many domains, and in the high end.”

To be sure, China and India remain two of the world’s largest arms importers, accounting for 5 and 15 percent, respectively, of the global arms trade from 2010 to 2014. Neither country’s defense industry is capable of meeting all of the needs of its military, so for the foreseeable future, they will remain dependent on Russia and the West, especially with regard to complex platforms and technologies, such as anti-submarine warfare aircraft and jet engines. But their exports are part of a worrying trend.

What are the implications of the growing availability of modern weapons platforms? They will almost certainly disrupt the global arms market by providing cost-effective solutions for countries that do not need expensive, cutting-edge weapons. This will lead to a drop in orders for U.S., Western European, and Russian arms, as even more countries purchase more affordable Chinese and Indian alternatives.

The proliferation of these largely offensive weapons will also have a destabilizing effect on many regions where rivalries run deep. As countries equip their militaries with far more capable weapons, their neighbors may feel threatened and respond in kind, resulting in a ratcheting-up of tensions. This happened during the Cold War, when massive infusions of arms by the superpowers exacerbated existing disputes in the Third World. The Soviet Union’s arms sales to Egypt and Syria, for instance, fed Arab aggression and intensified the Arab-Israeli dispute.

The era in which the U.S. military has largely had uncontested freedom of action throughout the international commons is also ending. These weapons will enable even countries with limited defense budgets to acquire “anti-access/area denial” capabilities and make it more difficult for the United States to intervene militarily without suffering significant casualties.

U.S. and European policymakers must therefore be cautious in their decisions regarding arms sales, particularly to rising powers. Such lucrative deals are undeniably attractive, especially when defense manufacturers are scrounging for orders amid fiscal austerity in Western countries. However, these sales may eventually lead not only to the rise of competing defense industries, but also to greater instability worldwide.

The problem is that arms exports are measured in dollars... if France were to sell one Rafale jet aircraft for $200 million dollars and Russia was to sell  twenty Yak-130s for $170 million does that mean Frances is a "bigger" arms exporter than Russia when they are selling one over priced aircraft and Russia is selling twenty light jet trainers?

Comparing the US and Russia, again the first and second exporters of arms... if you add up the different types are their positions so clear?

I mean the US can sell 10 C-17s at 500 million each to Australia and India for 5 billion dollars in sales, while Russia might sell 20 An-124s to India for 100 million each... US sales are 5 billion and Russias sales are 2 billion but who is the real biggest exporter?

In fact the situation is actually rather worse than that... with the terms and conditions the US imposes on its clients the US sales are more like lending agreements with a range of restrictions... something New Zealand found out when we decided to sell our ancient Skyhawks and found that we had to get US government approval just to sell OUR Skyhawks...!!!

Recently a photograph of three Chinese-made CAIC Z-10 attack helicopters delivered to Pakistan has been circulating online, according to Sina's military news website.

This has led to comparisons between Chinese and Russian weapons systems online. In certain traditional fields, the Russian defense industry has a clear advantage, according to the website. Its Soviet legacy and its efforts in research and development put Russia at the forefront of the international weapons market, the article said. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute ranking, Russia is the second biggest weapons exporter, as it exports weapons to 56 countries. Its weapon exports to India, China and Algeria make up 60% of the country's total weapon exports.

China is a relative newcomer to the global weapons market, but it is now the third biggest defense exporter. The weapons it exports include the CAC/PAC JF-17 Thunder fighter, the PLZ-45 155 mm self-propelled howitzer and the C series of anti-ship missiles. The reason for the rapid growth in its weapons exports is China's rapid economic rise, which has fueled the modernization of the armed forces, according to the website. This has allowed certain Chinese weapon systems to be able to compete with Russian weapons in the international market.

One of the clearest examples of this is Pakistan's purchase of Z-10 attack helicopters from China. China has already handed over three of the helicopters to Pakistan, according to US-based military affairs news site Strategy Page. The three helicopters have been provided to Pakistan in advance, to allow them to trial the helicopter. Pakistan will buy 17 Z-10 helicopters and before the end of the year, Pakistan will receive another two. Providing weapon systems at so early a stage in a deal is almost unheard of in the weapons trade and shows that China is keen to compete with Russia for customers. Pakistan is the first country to buy the helicopter from China.

The Pakistani media has speculated that the country also wishes to purchase Chinese Jin-class Type 094 nuclear powered ballistic missile submarines.

Pakistan has extended an olive branch to Russia after the Chinese helicopter purchase, however, as a report in IHS Jane's Defence Weekly from Oct. 26, 2014 stated that Russia and Pakistan have signed a contract to enhance cooperation on military purchases. Under the terms of the agreement, Russia will provide Pakistan with 20 Mi-35 attack helicopters. The two countries may also reach deals on the Pantsyr-S1 short to medium range surface-to-air missile and anti-aircraft artillery weapon system, the Mi-28E all weather attack helicopter and the 9K37 Buk Grizzly missile system.

Pakistan plans to use helicopters purchased from China and Russia at the same time.

Several weapons systems currently in service with the Pakistan Armed Forces were developed jointly by both China and Pakistan, including the CAC/PAC JF-17 Thunder fighter, main battle tanks, F-22P Zulfiquar-class frigates, and Azmat-class fast attack crafts. Contracts for several others are set to be signed soon, including a deal for an upgrade to the F-22P, a deal for eight of the export version of China's Type 039A Yuan-class diesel-electric submarine, and another on China's Type 022 missile boat.

Russia, for its part, appears to be attempting to move in on China's traditional clientele, including Thailand, Myanmar and Pakistan. This has coincided with certain issues over weapons deals between Russia and China. One in particular concerns the Zubr-class air-cushioned landing craft (LCAC). China originally signed a deal with Ukraine for two of the landing craft, while two others were set to be built within China. After Russia annexed Crimea, however, there was some confusion as to whether the deal would go ahead and if it would be filled by Ukraine or by Russia. The issue was just resolved recently, when Russia agreed to take over the contract.

Production on the JF-17 Thunder Block 2 began at the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex in Kamra in September 2013 and three aircraft have already come off the production line. The first Block 2 aircraft completed its maiden flight on Feb. 9. The Pakistan Air Force plans to buy 50 of the upgraded fighters. The biggest difference between Block 1 and Block 2 fighters is that the latter is equipped with a mid-air refueling system. This has boosted the export potential of the JF-17. The avionics of the Block 2 fighters have also been improved, which allows it to work more efficiently with the KLJ-7 X band airborne fire-control radar.

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