logo
Russian arms makers make big showing at Arab defense fair

Russian arms makers make big showing at Arab defense fair

Yahoo17-02-2025

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.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Exclusive: Crypto security startup Hypernative raises $40M
Exclusive: Crypto security startup Hypernative raises $40M

Axios

time18 minutes ago

  • Axios

Exclusive: Crypto security startup Hypernative raises $40M

Hypernative, a provider of real-time threat prevention for crypto companies, raised $40 million in Series B funding, its founders tell Axios exclusively. Why it matters: Security remains a major barrier to mass adoption of crypto, which is plagued by increasingly sophisticated hacks and exploits. How it works: Hypernative's technology monitors blockchain transactions to detect and respond to potential threats before they happen. "We know how to classify that preparation and then essentially front-run their attacks before they're actually triggering it," Hypernative CTO Dan Caspi explains. Its platform identifies patterns of on-chain preparations that attackers typically make before launching an exploit. Using AI and machine learning models, it tracks and analyzes on-chain and off-chain data sources, simulating transaction outcomes to protect users and assets in real time. State of play: The crypto security market is becoming increasingly competitive, with numerous startups offering solutions to prevent hacks, fraud and exploits. By the numbers: Israel-based Hypernative serves more than 200 customers, protecting assets totaling over $100 billion. In 2024, the platform detected over $2.2 billion in potential losses from hacks and exploits, a 22% increase from the previous year, the company says. "We've already saved huge amounts of money in real time for customers and non-customers," Hypernative CEO Gal Sagie says. Case in point:"Just yesterday, there was a protocol that was not a customer of ours, and we managed to reach out to them and saved around $10 million," he adds. Zoom out: Traditional financial institutions are increasingly becoming interested in blockchain technology, driven by regulatory clarity and institutional demand for digital assets. "With the new regulation and the new administration, we see a lot of demand from more traditional financial institutions," Sagie says. Zoom in: Ten Eleven Ventures and Ballistic Ventures led the round, which included participation from StepStone Group, Boldstart Ventures and the IBI Tech Fund.

More WA Rite Aid and Bartell sites added to chains' store shutdown list
More WA Rite Aid and Bartell sites added to chains' store shutdown list

Yahoo

time19 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

More WA Rite Aid and Bartell sites added to chains' store shutdown list

Two more proposed store closure lists have been entered into the court filings of Rite Aid's bankruptcy case, and they include more Pierce County locations. The lists, released June 5 and June 6, included 25 and 207 store locations nationwide, respectively, with a combined 23 sites in Washington. The bulk are Rite Aid drugstores, except for four Bartell Drugs — one of those in Tacoma. The Seattle-based Bartell drugstore chain is a subsidiary of Rite Aid. For Pierce County, the new closure lists include: ▪ Rite Aid at 5700 100th St. SW, Suite 100, Lakewood ▪ Bartell Drugs at 3601 Sixth Ave., Tacoma ▪ Rite Aid at 12811 Meridian St. E., Puyallup ▪ Rite Aid at 21302 State Route 410 E., Bonney Lake In Thurston County, the June 6 list included the Rite Aid at 305 Cooper Point Road NW. Other Washington locations on the new lists include: ▪ Rite Aid, 2131 SW 336th St., Federal Way ▪ Rite Aid, 10407 SE 256th St., Kent ▪ Rite Aid, 3116 NE Sunset Boulevard, Renton ▪ Rite Aid, 17615 140th Ave. SE, Renton ▪ Rite Aid, 7500-A 196th St. SW Lynnwood ▪ Rite Aid, 2860 NW Bucklin Hill Road, Silverdale ▪ Rite Aid, 11700 Muilteo Speedway No. 500, Mukilteo ▪ Bartell Drugs, 2222 32nd Ave. W., Seattle ▪ Rite Aid, 4514 S. Regal St., Spokane ▪ Rite Aid, 19475 7th Ave. NE, Poulsbo ▪ Rite Aid, 1901 N. Steptoe St., Kennewick ▪ Bartell Drugs, 419 NE 71st. St., Seattle ▪ Rite Aid, 1065 NW Gilman Blvd., Issaquah ▪ Bartell Drugs, 11020 19th Ave. SE, Everett ▪ Rite Aid, 364 Triangle Shopping Center, Longview ▪ Rite Aid, 3227 Northwest Ave., Bellingham ▪ Rite Aid, 1329 Lee Blvd., Richland ▪ Rite Aid, 12420 N. Division St., Spokane Rite Aid is closing hundreds of stores nationwide amid its latest bankruptcy. CVS Pharmacy has agreed to acquire the prescription files of 625 Rite Aid pharmacies across 15 states, as well as acquire 64 Rite Aid stores in Idaho, Oregon and Washington. Other stores that remain on Rite Aid's website as open in Pierce County include two stores in Tacoma (1912 N. Pearl St. and 7041 Pacific Ave.) a store in Spanaway and three locations in Puyallup. Bartell is set to have one Pierce County site remaining, in Gig Harbor. With the new filings, the Washington stores slated for closure now total nearly 50. No dates have been announced for when the stores will shutter. Oregon had several additional stores listed for closure, and Idaho had one. See previous coverage for earlier closure lists.

Western firms reportedly paid at least $46 billion in taxes to Russia amid full-scale war in Ukraine
Western firms reportedly paid at least $46 billion in taxes to Russia amid full-scale war in Ukraine

Yahoo

time19 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Western firms reportedly paid at least $46 billion in taxes to Russia amid full-scale war in Ukraine

Western companies have paid at least 40 billion euros ($46 billion) in taxes to Russia over the past three years, according to an investigation by investigative outlet Follow the Money published on June 10. This figure represents almost one-third of Russia's defense budget for 2025. Seventeen of the 20 largest foreign corporate taxpayers in Russia come from G7 and EU countries, Ukraine's main international supporters, the investigative outlet wrote, citing an earlier report by the Kyiv School of Economics (KSE) and the B4Ukraine association. Foreign firms still operating in Russia represent a crucial lifeline for Russia's war chest amid Western sanctions and skyrocketing war expenditures. Earlier reports by KSE said that only 472 of over 4,000 foreign companies have withdrawn from Russia after the outbreak of the full-scale war in Ukraine in 2022, while 1,360 have scaled down their operations. Austrian bank Raiffeisen remains the largest European payer of corporate taxes in Russia, with 457 million euros ($522 million) paid only in 2023. Philip Morris tobacco company, PepsiCo, UniCredit Bank, Mars, and other Western business giants have also continued filling Russian coffers, even though Western governments have donated some $170 billion in military aid to Ukraine to face Russian aggression, according to the investigation. The firms provided various explanations for their continued presence in Russia. Some argued that their products are essential for Russian consumers, while others cited concern for the safety of their employees, the outlet reported. Follow the Money also noted that Russia makes it difficult for companies to exit its market, for example, by allowing them to sell their assets only at extremely low prices. Companies that have decided to leave the market reportedly had to pay over $170 billion in write-offs and exit taxes. Russia has previously directly seized assets of some companies that had remained in the country. Russian President Vladimir Putin called for punitive action against Western companies still operating in Russia, saying they must be "strangled" in response to what he described as Western attempts to suffocate the Russian economy. Despite the rhetoric, Russia continues to explore paths for re-engagement with foreign businesses. In February, Putin instructed his government to prepare for the eventual return of Western firms. Still, no formal requests have been received from companies seeking re-entry, according to Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council and former president. Read also: Key to Russia's potential defeat lies in its economy We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store