Russia is the second largest arms producer after the United States

Russia is the second largest country on the list of the world's top arms producers, according to a report by the Stockholm International Institute for Peace Research.

"Russian companies have been recording significant growth in arms sales since 2011," said Vizman. "This is in line with Russian policy to increase spending on the arms sector to modernize its forces."

According to the institute's report, the list of "100 largest" companies in the field of weapons and military services, including 10 Russian companies with a share of sales 9.5%, and total sales of 37.7 billion dollars (33 billion euros). Russia took second place on the list, which Britain has occupied since 2002.

The United States remained at the forefront with 42 companies, whose sales rose 2% to $ 226.6 billion, or 57% of the total sales of the 100 listed companies.

"US companies are directly benefiting from the continued demand for arms for the Pentagon," said Floran, director of the Arms and Military Expenditure Program at the Stockholm International Institute for Peace Research.

Lockheed Martin maintained its lead as the top arms maker in 2017 with sales of $ 44.9 billion, according to the institute.

The report pointed to the entry of a Russian company for the first time club of the top 10 companies for the manufacture of weapons with sales of «Almaz-Ante» increase of 17% in 2017 to 8.6 billion dollars.

Britain is backing down

Britain, the largest arms producer in Western Europe, fell to third place with a total sales of $ 35.7 billion. BAE UK was fourth on the list.

According to the report, Turkish companies' sales rose by 24% in 2017, reflecting Ankara's tendency to "develop the arms industry to meet the growing demand for arms and reduce its reliance on foreign suppliers." The Institute cited the exclusion of the report to China because no figures were available .

The global sales of military equipment and services by the world's top 100 weapons groups totaled $ 398 billion in 2017, reflecting "developments in the world, where countries in Europe, Russia and elsewhere in the world are spending a lot on their armies," he said. The report shows that the total sales of weapons in Western Europe amounted to about 95 billion dollars.

To view the share of arms sales for the first 100 companies by country, please click on this link.

• Lockheed Martin maintained its lead as the largest arms manufacturer in 2017, with sales of $ 44.9 billion.

• The United States remained at the forefront with 42 companies, with sales up 2% to $ 226.6 billion, or 57% of total sales of the 100 listed companies.