Russia to showcase 300 defense-industry products at Eurosatory 2004

The Russian arms dealer Rosoboronexport is expected to present some three hundred defense-industry products and a new English-language catalogue of arms and hardware for ground forces at the Eurosatory trade show opening today in Villepinte, outside Paris.

The catalogue contains information about 130 models of Russian-made armored vehicles, engineering systems, artillery guns, fire control equipment, firearms, ammunition, and simulators, a Rosoboronexport spokesperson told RIA.

At Eurosatory 2004, Rosoboronexport will be showcasing products by over twenty Russian defense companies, on an area of some 350 square meters, our interviewee said. Its stand will present some of the Russian defense industry's most recently developed armored vehicles and also upgraded versions of earlier models.

Within the context of Russia's growing interaction with NATO and in the face of a new phase in the rearmament of the Central and Eastern European newcomers to this trans-Atlantic alliance, opportunities are now broadening for Russia's collaborative projects with Western countries for the benefit of third nations, the source pointed out. By way of example, he cited the upgrading of Russian-made armored vehicles, such as T-72M tanks, in line with NATO standards.

"The most promising areas of Russia's military technological cooperation with Central and Eastern European nations also include the supply of components and spare parts for Russian-made hardware and repairs to earlier supplied ground and air-defense systems, both at Russian-based facilities and ones on foreign customers' premises," our interviewee said, adding that all these areas would be reflected in the Russian exposition at the Eurosatory 20004 show.

Rosoboronexport will also present upgraded versions of the multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS) Smerch and Grad. Upgraded in line with modern-day requirements, the Smerch and Grad multiple launch rocket systems can hit almost any type of ground target with a high degree of precision and with a minimum amount of ammunition consumed, the Rosoboronexport official told RIA. According to him, the employment of the MLRS Smerch and Grad in conjunction with the remotely-piloted aircraft Pchela 1, as Russian developers suggest, will enable the user to detect and hit targets in real time, appreciably raising the combat standards.

Russian Air Defense systems are well known the world over-from the portable anti-aircraft missile systems Igla to the long-range S300. The Russian stand at Eurosatory 2004 will highlight small and medium-range antiaircraft guns, too, such as Buk M1, Top M1, Pantsir S1, Tunguska M1, and various shipborne and ground systems, the source at Rosoboronexport said.

According to him, the Russian exposition will feature a wide gamut of special-task weaponry, in increasingly high demand now, and a variety of ammunition-from firearms cartridges to grenades to small-caliber shells. "The Russian stand will showcase a whole number of guided weapons, including anti-tank missiles. Thus, for instance, a Tula-based company will tout its Cornet E, one of the world's most effective missiles of its kind now," the source revealed. Components compatible with foreign-made hardware should draw particular interest of Eurosatory visitors, the Rosoboronexport official predicted.

The anti-airctaft system Shtora for the protection of tanks, electrical appliances for armored vehicles, and economical and reliable energy sources for artillery guns and missiles will also be on view.

Bearing in mind the recent experience of local armed conflicts, Rosobornexport's services to install automatic troop & fire control systems and mobile command posts seem very timely indeed, our interviewee noted.

The Eurosatory trade show is a biennial event, held since 1992 by the French Land Defense Manufacturers Association, under the patronage of France's Defense Ministry. This year, Russia will be taking part in the show for a fourth time.

Eurosatory 2004 is to run through June 18.