KUBINKA (Moscow region) (Pakistan Point news / Sputnik - 25th August, 2018) The forth Army-2018 international defense forum, which is now underway in the town of Kubinka in the Moscow region, has witnessed a record number of arms contracts and unveiled Russia's advanced military and civilian innovations.
The forum has started on August 21 and will last until August 26. The congressional agenda of the event will end on August 25.
The event, supported by the Russian Defense Ministry, combines an arms exhibition with extensive congress agenda and presents a total of 26,000 models of arms and military equipment. Apart from the leading Russian manufacturers, Army-2018 also welcomed participants from Armenia, India, Iran and Kazakhstan. Two NATO members, Slovakia and Turkey, have also joined the exposition.
The Russian Defense Ministry and Russian military enterprises have signed record 32 contracts with a total value of over 130 billion rubles ($1.9 billion) on the sidelines of Army-2018.
In particular, the ministry finalized a long-awaited deal on the purchase of two pre-production prototypes of the Su-57 fifth generation fighter jet. The first of the two aircraft will join the Russian army in 2019. Also, the ministry signed a contract with the United Aircraft Corporation on supply of six new multirole MiG-35 fighters until 2023.
Apart from the aircraft contracts, the ministry signed a deal on obtaining 132 next generation T-14 battle tanks and T-15 heavy infantry fighting vehicles based on the Armata military tracked vehicle platform.
According to Russian Deputy Defense Minister Alexey Krivoruchko, the Russian army will get its first six serial Armata-based vehicles as early as this year. Up to now, there has been a total of 30 Armata platform vehicles produced, including prototypes first demonstrated at the Victory Day parade in May 2015.
During the forum, the ministry also contracted with the Moscow Institute of Thermal Technology on development of the Anchar-RV long-range hypersonic "aerial vehicle." There are no details on the design and timeline of the project as of today. It has not been revealed yet whether the Anchar is an aircraft or a missile, but the institute is famous for its Bulava sea-based ballistic missiles.
The closed section of the exposition showcased Tosochka heavy flamethrower system, which is a new version of the TOS Buratino series. Unlike previous versions, Tosochka is based on the wheeled, not tracked vehicle and designed to be used in desert regions, as the majority of potential consumers of the system are middle East states.
A prototype of the new modification of the Mi-8 helicopter was demonstrated to the top military officials for the first time at the exposition. The helicopter will be tested during Vostok-2018 war games, which will kick off later in the month, and further elaborated in accordance with the performance during the drills.
The newest Sosna anti-aircraft missile system which will replace the Strela-10M system has also been presented at the exposition. The new complex is capable of operating at any time of the day and night and in conditions of reduced visibility. Targets can be identified both in autonomous mode and manually. The system is armed with 12 Sosna-R anti-aircraft guided missiles, which can hit targets at a distance of up to 6 miles and at an altitude of 3 miles. The system can be based both on wheeled and tracked chassis.
The new developments of the Ratnik infantry combat kit have been showcased at the forum, including a chameleon helmet designed to change color to match the environment and an exoskeleton able to diminish the weight carried by the soldier by up to 110 Pounds.
During the forum, Russian military have held talks with the defense officials of 14 states, including Algeria, Angola, Bangladesh and the United Arab Emirates. and secured new partners by signing agreements on defense cooperation with Burundi and the Central African Republic.
Russia's state arms exporter Rosoboronexport has managed to sign 15 contracts with a total worth of over 20.3 billion rubles (over $302 million), including deals on supplies of land-based military equipment, unmanned aerial vehicles, electronic warfare devices and close combat weapons.
The forum participants repeatedly addressed the issue of unfair competition in the defense sector. According to Rosoboronexport Director General Alexander Mikheev, Russian and its partners actively develop mechanisms to conduct transactions in the national currencies, including Indian rupees, Chinese yuans, UAE Dirhams and Russian rubles.
A special section of the exhibition was given to the Syrian exposition which featured improvised weapons seized by the Syrian military from the Islamic State (IS terror group, banned in Russia) terrorists. The visitors could see explosive devices, small arms, vehicle-borne bombs and hand grenades used by the terrorists in Syria.
Russia's Kalashnikov Concern unveiled its new electric car and motorcycle, as well as a prototype of its new electric supercar which, the manufacturer claimed, could in the future rival with world leaders in this field, including Tesla.
Another Kalashnikov's exhibit was a giant bulletproof Robocop-style robot, dubbed Igorek. The four-meters-tall droid, which according to the manufacturer was designed to carry out engineering and combat tasks, immediately became the subject of various internet memes.
