The reduced military spending by the U.S. and some European governments as their commitments in Iran and Afghanistan wound down is behind the third consecutive year that weapon sales of the top 100 arms-producing companies dipped again.

According to the report released on Monday by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri), the sales of the top 100 arms maker were down 2 percent in 2013 to US$402 million in real terms. In contrast, weapon sales by Russian firms jumped 20 percent for the same period, writes Bloomberg.

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It explains the rise in Russian weapons sales to emphasis given by Moscow on investing in weapons since the 2000s, supported by budgetary allocation as the country aimed to produce arms with the same quantity and quality as the west.

The 20 percent average growth rate of Russian weapons sale is small compared to the 118 percent growth achieve by number one manufacturer Tactical Missiles Corp. For the same year, Sozvezdie, a Russian company made it to Sipri's list of top 11 arms-maker, the 10^th Russian firm to be included.

As a result of the higher volume of Russian weapons sales, Russian share of global arm sales outside Western Europe and North America has been on the rise since 2005, with a peak 15.5 percent share in the Sipri 100 Index in 2013, its highest share since 1989.

Siemon Wezeman, Sipri senior researcher, said that the remarkable growth of Russian arms-makers' sales in 2012 and 2013 reflects Moscow's serious efforts to modernize its armed forces.

In contrast, the events in the Middle East and limits set by the 2011 Budget Control Act in the U.S. resulted in a 4.5 percent decline in total arm sales by U.S. companies in the Top 100 list.

Sipri also noted the impressive sales of some arms-suppliers from emerging nations made up of Brazil, India, South Korea, Singapore and Turkey, even if their total share was only 3.6 percent of Sipri's top 100.

Tagsarms manufacturing, Russia, Russia, sipri