Image source: topwar.ru
Russia's participation in IDEX-2023 - one of the largest and most authoritative arms forums in the world - was another convincing proof of the fact that a year after the start of the Russian special operation in Ukraine, our country and its technologies remain in the center of the geopolitical attention of the planet.
As for the "isolation of Russia", which Western political leaders have been singing about all last year, then, as IDEX-2023 showed, it did not take place at all in objective reality.
The IDEX anniversary Salon (this year the forum celebrates its 30th anniversary) gathered more than 1300 companies and organizations from 65 countries in the third decade of February. The exhibition was visited by tens of thousands of guests from all over the world – politicians, military specialists, officials and businessmen.
It is important to note that Abu Dhabi today is probably the only international platform in the world where all the geopolitical giants of the planet equalize their ambitions.
Only here you can simultaneously meet the pavilions of the USA, the European Union, China, India, Japan, Korea, Russia, Ukraine and other countries that do not intersect with each other at other venues.
Image source: topwar.ru
In a good way, even the UN headquarters today would not hurt to move to the United Arab Emirates. Why? After all, only here, under the close supervision of snow-white sheikhs, the Anglo-Saxons despising the whole world begin to fade and sober up. In every way.
Of course, the capital of the Emirates "sneaks" - both by the beauty of its oriental and modern architecture, and by the gigantic scale of projects being built around it. Moreover, Abu Dhabi is really different from the same Dubai. This is a different conceptual view of the future. Although no less ultramodern.
But back to IDEX-2023. The Russian exposition, which is located at some distance from the sites of the collective West and the same Ukraine, was visited by more than 30 official delegations.
By the way, I sincerely expected political provocations from our former Western and Ukrainian "partners". All sorts of banners about "bloody bouches", provocateurs with posters and other political actions.
But - everything was calm, even on the anniversary of the liberation of Donbass. They were afraid, apparently, of Arab policemen. This is not a liberal Europe. Here the East - everything is hospitable, polite, but discipline is above all.
Image source: topwar.ru
The open area of Russia has its own rotorcraft of the Ka-226, Ka-62, Mi-171 families from Russian Helicopters. The guests of the venue were greeted by a group of stunning beauties in the form of pilots - by the way, the girls literally caused a furor among foreign delegations. And there were no end of those who wanted to take pictures of helicopter beauties.
Specialists from a dozen and a half countries of the world visited the exposition of the Russian concern Almaz-Antey, a manufacturer of the world's best air defense/missile defense systems and systems.
According to the head of the Department of Foreign Economic Activity of Almaz-Antey Holding Sergey Kulakov, who heads the company's delegation at the forum, the representatives of the Middle East countries showed the greatest attention to Russia's anti-aircraft products. Other things, their particular interest was aroused by the Viking anti-aircraft missile system (an export version of the Buk-M3 air defense system) and the S-350E Vityaz export complex.
"The concern's products traditionally arouse great interest among the guests of IDEX, one of the most visited defense exhibitions. The forum met our expectations, we got the result we expected. International isolation has not taken place," Sergey Kulakov said.
In total, the products of its eight subsidiaries were presented at the Almaz-Antey stand.
The Buk-M2E air defense systems, which have repeatedly proven themselves in various armies of the world, were presented here, as well as the world-famous short-range air defense systems of the Tor family, including modifications of the Tor-M2E, Tor-M2K air defense systems on a wheeled chassis, as well as the autonomous combat module Tor-M2KM", and other combat vehicles from the Izhevsk Electromechanical plant "Kupol", which proved themselves, including during the Ukrainian conflict.
"Today, Russian air defense equipment, unmanned aerial vehicles, and the development of the ammunition industry are certainly in the greatest demand in the Middle East. These are ammunition used in tanks, ammunition used in air defense systems, barrage ammunition, remotely detonated ammunition, electronic warfare equipment," Alexander Mikheev, head of Rosoboronexport, said in a conversation with reporters.
Since IDEX presented naval innovations in a separate exposition, Russia's partners from the Middle East and other countries were able to get acquainted with the product line of sea-based air defense systems, for example, the export anti-aircraft missile systems "Rif-M", "Resource", and "Calm-1".
Of course, numerous guests of the exhibition were happy to "hold in their hands" small arms from Kalashnikov, admired multimedia innovations with the capabilities of our military aviation - aircraft of the Su and MiG families from the UAC, and other wonderful products from the world of weapons.
I would like to say a few words about the very clear organization of the forum. Local sheikhs managed to build the largest financial and economic center here, on the shores of the Persian Gulf. And it is here, in the center of the geographical map of the planet, that all the world's largest players meet and get along. States that determine the technological and political future of the planet.
