Russian arms makers make big showing at Arab defense fair
ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — Russia's defense companies are sensing an opening to get back into the global arms market, with Moscow's state-owned firms afforded a prominent display of weaponry here at the IDEX and NAVDEX defense fairs.
The massive stand is in contrast to the footprint at recent shows, where Russian arms makers have kept a low profile or – in the case of European exhibitions – weren't admitted at all because of the invasion of Ukraine.
With over a dozen Russian exhibitors, many of whom pitched upgraded variants of their weapons, the 2025 IDEX setting was noticeably different from the 2023 edition, when Russian companies were not even listed on the show's official website – though they still had space in a separate pavilion outside the main hall.
This time around, Russian exhibitors were placed in one of the busiest halls of the show here, alongside major regional players such as Saudi Arabia's Military Industries and Qatar's Barzan Holdings.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 fundamentally altered its arms export industry, which saw a significant revenue plunge.
By the end of 2024, the Washington-based think tank Jamestown Foundation found that Russian weapons transfers had declined by 92% from 2021 levels, primarily due to the redistribution of national resources to support the Ukraine invasion and higher interest rates resulting from international sanctions.
Rosoboronexport, the state agency responsible for military trade, has maintained a business-as-usual composure, stating record level of orders for 2024.
Weeks before the exhibition here, Russian companies tried to create buzz around new products, reaching out to Western journalists and publishing press releases in English.
Among them is the Kalashnikov Group, which announced in mid-January that it would be unveiling a new Kub-2-E strike drone equipped with guided munitions as part of a drone-swarming concept and two new rifle designs.
The drones will be deployed by Russian troops from launchers mounted on armored vehicles, designed to target lightly armored military equipment, air defense systems, and helicopter basing sites, per a company press release.
According to the Institute of the Study of War, an American research organization for military affairs, Russia's objective in showcasing these technological adaptations here is 'to introduce innovations to optimize systems for use in Ukraine.'
Sam Bendett, advisor at the Washington-based Center for Naval Analyses think tank, said Russian defense companies are increasingly trying to capitalize on the claim of combat-proven equipment in the invasion of Ukraine.
Russian officials here also showcased an export variant of the T-90 Proryv main battle tank, which was placed at the centre stage of its pavilion and attracted a significant amount of attention from visitors on the opening day of the show here.
It was equipped with different types of protection against first-person-view drones, which have proven increasingly difficult to defend against across the battlefield.
Moscow has touted the capabilities of the platform in the Middle East since 2015, with little success. The tanks are reported to have suffered heavy combat losses in Ukraine, with open-source intelligence analysts having recorded at least 124 destroyed, according to the Dutch-based equipment tracking group Oryx.
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