MOSCOW, April 14. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin has admitted on Thursday that many drawbacks have been revealed in the operation of Russian combat equipment in Syria and they are currently being analyzed by experts. "Yes, certain drawbacks have been exposed," he said during his annual televised Q&A session officially known as "The Direct Line with Vladimir Putin. "I shall be honest, there are many of them. Everything is now carefully being examined by experts."
The president said that after the application of the equipment in combat experts of many manufacturing companies went to the field "to tune up the equipment to the required condition." "The work continues," he added.
Demand for Russian weapons grows after Syria operation
Putin has however marked a sharp growth in demand for Russian weapons after the operation of the Russian Aerospace Troops in Syria.
"Interest in our weapons, especially after and during the operation of our Aerospace Troops and in general Armed Forces in Syria has grown sharply," the president said.
"We cannot meet the demands of the foreign market on some kinds of weapons, for example on air defense systems," the president said.
Putin noted that specifically to settle this problem three plants for production of this hardware had to be built.
Speaking about the global market of weapons, Putin noted that Russia was placed second there, slightly legging behind the United States. In 2014, Russia sold weapons worth $15 billion, in 2015 - worth $14.5 billion.
"The general order portfolio for the next few years is $50 billion," the president added.