With the warming relations between east and west, particularly France and Italy, the Russian display at Eurosatory is expected to be the largest ever. For the first time Russia is displaying the latest types of weapon systems, including the T-90S Main Battle Tank (MBT) upgrade, BMPT tank support combat vehicle nicknamed the ‘Terminator. The Russian display will also feature the Tigr light armored vehicle, mounting the all-new Kornet EM anti-tank/multi-purpose guided missile.
“We have been participating in the Eurosatory exhibitions since 1996, but this year’s show is special. Russia has never brought such a number of full-scale new items. They are from the latest developments that clearly demonstrate a huge potential of the Russian defence industry”, – says Igor Sevastyanov, deputy director general of Rosoboronexport, JSC and head of the joint delegation of the Russian Technologies State Corporation and Rosoboronexport. He said that events such as Eurosatory provide the Russian arms exporters an important opportunity to seek new customers and industrial cooperation, where Moscow places special emphasis on the European market. “Many meetings are planned also with representatives of European companies. Special emphasis will be made on contacts with leading French defence manufacturers” Sevastyanov added.
Defense-Update has already covered the T-90M at Defexpo two months ago. We plan to revisit this review with any new information expected to be available with this unprecedented European debut.
Military technical cooperation between Russia and France has been growing fast in recent years. “We are interested, first of all, in joint research and development. This kind of cooperation does not fall into the ‘buyer-seller’ category: it demands a wider cooperation to develop effective self-defence assets, including those for third countries” said Sevastyanov, “by combining our efforts we obtain a very strong synergistic effect. It is well seen, for example, in our projects with Thales, Safran and Sagem companies”, Igor Sevastyanov noted.
The two countries established a special workgroup to expand Russian-French cooperation into the land forces equipment area. Its first meeting took place in January 2012, and the next one is scheduled for the end of June, just after Eurosatory show. Rosoboronexport is encouraging Russian developers and manufacturers to get involved in the workgroup activities to help define most prospective projects and ways of their implementation.
The full edition of Eurosatory Show Live is available for only 4.95 Euros before the show. We recommend you download it and keep it accessible throughout the show on your mobile phone.
The following articles outline some of the recent trends reflected at Eurosatory 2012
- Renault :Renault Offers Multiple VAB Upgrades
- Plasan: Plasan Introduces Enhanced FlexFence Capable of Defeating Multiple RPGs
- Oshkosh: Oshkosh Defense Demonstrates MEDEVAC M-ATV
- Rheinmetall: Rheinmetall Defence Introduces an Off-Road Pickup Truck
- IAI’: IAI’s Green Rock, Black Granit Debut at Eurosatory 2012
