Hidden wars: Russia's civilian projects fund military ambitions
Russia conceals the sources of funding for its arms industry, as noted by the think tank RUSI in its report. Activities formally conducted by the civilian sector, such as the Tu-214 passenger aircraft programme, actually serve to covertly finance the arms industry.
The new RUSI report focuses on comparing the economies of Russia, Ukraine, and Europe in the context of armaments and war efforts. RUSI highlights the unique nature of Russia, which, through strong centralisation, is able to effectively utilise wartime mobilisation of the economy.
At the same time, as highlighted by the Ukrainian service Defence Express, Russia discreetly conceals some of their expenditures allocated for armaments. This is possible because the same companies undertake tasks related to both weapon production and programmes that are – theoretically – civilian.
An example of this is the Tu-214 passenger aircraft. Its production has been marked by difficulties. In December 2024, only a single unit rolled off the production line, the previous one having been completed in 2021. The production plan for 2024 was fulfilled at only 10%.
The situation is even more challenging in the overall civilian aviation sector. Faced with difficulties maintaining Western aircraft, there is a need for as many as 550 domestically produced aircraft, yet only a few units are produced annually.
Tu-214 aids in developing the military sector
Defence Express highlights that the development and production of the Tu-214 is one method of covertly funding the arms sector. The scale of this practice is estimated at nearly 40 billion dollars annually and extends to areas such as space activities, the development of an innovative economy, and the modernisation of the aviation industry.
The Tu-214, whose development allows Moscow to redirect additional resources to the arms sector, was intended to be the future of Russian civilian aviation. Developed at the end of the 20th century, it is based on the slightly older Tu-204, with a length of 151 feet and a wingspan of 135 feet, featuring two new Aviadvigatel PS-90 engines.
Instead of modernising civilian aviation, which has received only a few Tu-214 units over almost a decade (some of which were utilised for various services), Russia plans to build, using the new aircraft as a base, a reconnaissance aircraft, the Tu-214R, as well as a maritime aircraft designed to detect and combat submarines.
