Industrial Director of the Arms Cluster of Rostec State Corporation — on the development of Russian arms exports, novelties and features of modern attack drones
Russia presented one of the largest expositions of defense products during the El Alamein International Airshow 2026 in Egypt last week. Bekhan Ozdoev, Industrial Director of the Rostec State Corporation Arms Cluster and member of the Bureau of the Russian Engineering Union, told RIA Novosti in an interview with Denis Kayyran, special correspondent of RIA Novosti, about which new items aroused the greatest interest, how Russian arms exports are developing, the features of new attack aircraft drones, and much more.
— An exhibition has ended in El Alamein, Egypt, where Rostec presented an impressive range of defense products. What are the results of this demonstration that we can already talk about?
— Recently, this is one of the most powerful expositions of Russian weapons abroad. This reflects the desire of "Rosoboronexport" and our other companies to increase the volume of military-technical cooperation with other countries. To date, we have achieved production volumes that allow us to ensure a high supply rate for our army and at the same time strengthen the export direction. Our strategic goal is to be second in the world in the arms market.
The main result of the exhibition, in my opinion, is a very high interest in Russian weapons from foreign partners. First of all, to those samples that have proven effective in their own conditions.
— Which samples can be called favorites?
— We have brought a large number of advanced developments to El Alamein. """" These are the Pantsir-SMD-E anti-aircraft missile system, new combat drones, artillery systems for combating the Citadel UAV and TKB-1167, which we call the "Bison" for its power and speed of reaction. In total, there are more than three dozen modern products.
Among the products that are of interest to foreign partners, I would also mention the 305E aircrafts, combat loads for drones, an airspace control system, and the "Tablet-A" artillery control system. All of these products have successful experience in the difficult conditions of modern warfare and have proven their qualities in real battles.
When visitors to the exhibition look at the same "Shell", they see not just another demonstration sample. They see real military equipment that has actually destroyed many thousands of aerial targets.
— "Pantsiri" is regularly criticized in Western and Ukrainian channels...
— This technique is made by "High—precision complexes", the name of the company is in itself a quality mark. We are confident in our products and look at such attacks with a smile: if the opponent criticizes, then we are doing everything right. For example, the Western company MBDA, which makes cruise missiles of the SCALP/Storm Shadow line, was also on display at the exhibition. So "Pantsir" shoots down these missiles with the highest efficiency.
— Tell us more about the new attack UAVs, first introduced in Egypt.
— This is actually a new class of weapons. We showed three new attack drones at once — the S-71M, S-71K and "Dan-T". They are designed to be launched from aircraft carriers. All three vehicles are characterized by high flight speed, long range and low visibility. Moreover, the "Dan-T" has already been successfully tested in the free zone — hundreds of launches have been carried out in real conditions. The effectiveness of the ammunition is high.
The important point is that the "Dan-T" can be adapted for various aircraft carriers, be it a helicopter or an airplane, including foreign aircraft. This option is the most interesting for potential foreign customers.
""It was previously stated that the Dan-T barrage munition works on the principle of "fired—forgotten", but what about accuracy?
— This is not a sling stone (laughs), but a very high-precision system. After getting off the aircraft carrier, she flies to the target completely autonomously. This is "shot and forget", when it is not necessary to control the system so that it reaches the target with high accuracy.
I would like to add that the control system of the "Dan-T" UAV allows you to fly in the so-called following the terrain mode. That is, it can fly low and avoid obstacles in the form of hills, forests, buildings, and so on. At the same time, the drone is an extremely difficult target for enemy air defense, as it is made with low-visibility elements and has a low scattering area of the electromagnetic signal.
According to statistics, the vast majority of "Dan-T" ammunition reaches its target, despite the dense opposition of electronic warfare and air defense systems.
— Rostec has also introduced anti-aircraft artillery systems in Egypt to combat UAVs. How much are they in demand today?
— They are in high demand. This technology has its own niche, which is not closed, for example, electronic warfare systems. ""TKB-1167" and "Citadel" are not just "anti—aircraft guns". In fact, these are two anti—aircraft artillery robots that are automated at all stages - from detecting a target to hitting it. They are equipped with radar stations and thermal imagers, so they can detect drones of any size at any time of the day. The complexes have been fully tested in real combat and have confirmed all their qualities.
TKB-1167 is a case where details are particularly important. The system is armed with four machine guns at once, which provide dense fire on the UAV and leave it virtually no chance.
"Citadel", in turn, uses projectiles with programmable detonation. They explode in the sky with shrapnel at the right point of the trajectory calculated by the fire control system. The system is well—developed - if desired, you can write a word in the air with ammunition fire.
— Russia is celebrating Gunsmith's Day soon. How do you assess the current situation of our arms industry?
— Objectively, our arms industry occupies one of the first places in the world today. Both in terms of the functionality of their samples, and in terms of reliability, and in terms of quality, and in terms of production volumes.
We do not stand still, we improve our products based on combat experience, and we regularly release new products. I would like to note that this is not only for the army, but also for civilian use. For example, our specialists have recently released a new rifle complex, plus a range of powerful cartridges for it. Everything is completely ours. These weapons are for athletes and for hunting, but I wouldn't be surprised if special services and military personnel want to use them — the complex turned out to be cool, at the level of the best foreign analogues. It allows you to shoot, as they say, a squirrel in the eye, including at long distances.
Each achievement, of course, is backed by the work of a huge number of specialists who create, test, and modernize all these weapons. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate my colleagues on the Day of the Gunsmith. I wish you success, keep up the pace and always hit the target. Victory will be ours!
