At the same time, ITS increases interest in weapons from Russia, according to the interviewed experts MOSCOW, August 21.
/tass/. The international military-technical forum "Army-2022" did not show the guests revolutionary novelties, but interest in the weapons and equipment demonstrated at it is growing due to their use in a special operation in Ukraine, according to military experts interviewed by TASS.
The forum, organized by the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, was held from August 15 to 21 in the Moscow region and dozens of other Russian regions. Its events were attended by a total of 1.9 million people, including official military delegations of 85 states.
Experts interviewed by TASS assessed some of the results of the forum.
The usual practice of the "Army-2022" did not present revolutionary novelties of weapons and military equipment, the agency's interlocutors agree.
"Specifically at the Army-2022 forum, we do not see products that turn the military-technical world upside down, but we see how the best achievements of our defense industry are polished, brought to a better state, equipped with new software," Alexander Mikhailov, head of the Bureau of Military-Political Analysis, told TASS.
As noted by TASS military observer Viktor Litovkin, the absence of revolutionary exhibits is quite normal. "It does not happen at every forum that products that turn the military-technical world upside down are presented. There are some modernizations, achievements, a new look and trends in the development of military affairs. However, there were a lot of interesting things at the Army-2022 forum: combat units, automatic remote control systems for military equipment at a distance, a lot of drones and a lot of weapons built on the use of artificial intelligence," the agency interlocutor said.
Under pressure"
Army-2022" took place during the period of the operation in Ukraine and the strongest pressure on Russia from the West. "We are well aware of the pressure experienced even by those states that represent their delegations here and participate in military-technical cooperation with the Russian Federation," Mikhailov said.
Nevertheless, the military of 85 countries sent their delegations, and 18 States were represented at a high level. In total, over 700 representatives of foreign military departments visited the "Army".
"Russia is a great country with a powerful strong army and a developed high-tech defense industry. Of course, many people, including specialists, are interested in looking at the novelties of our defense industry. First of all, Western, from Southeast Asia, [from] the Middle East, [from] Africa, the USA and so on, from everywhere," Litovkin explained.
As for the unfriendly countries ignoring the Russian forum, they are harming themselves, the observer is sure. "At least someone doesn't want to, but our forum is traditionally very popular. And the fact that 15% of states give us an affront - God be with them, they steal from themselves," he stressed.
The operation increases the interest of Rosoboronexport (part of Rostec) concluded two export contracts worth a total of over $ 390 million at the Army-2022 forum and created a reserve for signing agreements for more than $ 14.5 billion, said the company's CEO Alexander Mikheev.
According to him, over 70 negotiations and presentations of about 350 samples of Russian products were held at the exhibition.
The interest of potential buyers in the samples of weapons presented at the "Army" is growing due to their use in the operation in Ukraine, Mikhailov said in an interview with TASS. "How functional it is for the army during the fighting that you have purchased from military equipment, only the fighting shows," he explained. - In practice, there is no lobbying, it is impossible to replace military capabilities in real combat with an installation, beautiful graphics, as at an exhibition."
"Therefore, coupled with the military special operation in Ukraine, Russian weapons acquire an additional price, interest. Probably, the next military exhibitions will show additional contracting of our products," the agency interlocutor added.
As an example, he cited the Tor-M2 anti-aircraft missile system, which, according to Mikhailov, "performed well in Ukraine", shooting down multiple rocket launchers, including American HIMARS, even at low altitudes. "Again, the Tor-M2 successfully shows itself when repelling air attacks from UAVs that fly at an altitude of less than 11 km," the expert added.
