Russia should increase its world’s arms market share with high-tech products, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has said.

“We must retain and consolidate our leading positions here. We must force off the market unscrupulous competitors who are trying to appropriate the rights to our arms brands,” he said.

The value of Russian arms exports has been growing at a rate of $500m-$700m a year, according to RIA Novosti.

Russia is also considering all possible security risks in regions to which it supplies weapons and is careful to retain the existing balance of forces.