Russian authorities have decided to change the format of Russia's main military-technical exhibition, the "Army" forum, following its failure last year, according to two sources close to the Ministry of Defense and the event organizers, as reported by RBC.
According to one of the sources, the new primary objectives of the event will be "consolidating the efforts of developers and manufacturers for the military special operation, promoting Russian weapons in foreign markets, and demonstrating new solutions developed based on the experience gained from the military operation."
Specifically, the exhibition will showcase samples of weaponry that "have proven effective in the special operation," the source told RBC.
According to the draft program of the forum, the outdoor exhibition will feature only 15 types of weaponry used by the Russian army in Ukraine. These include the Iskander missile system, Tornado-S multiple launch rocket system, Bastion coastal missile system, ISDM remote mine-laying system, Pantsir-S1M air defense system, Tor-M2K air defense system, TOS-2 heavy flamethrower system, BMPT, Kornet-D1 anti-tank guided missile, Gibo-S air defense system, T-90M tank, T-72B3A tank, T-80BV tank, 152mm self-propelled artillery gun Malva, and 120mm self-propelled artillery gun Phlox.
Additionally, according to RBC sources, the forum will for the first time widely showcase "people’s defense industry products" developed for the war against Ukraine.
"Some of these will be shown in action. The exhibition is planned to operate on a permanent basis with the possibility of demonstrating these developments in action," said one of the sources.
The event will not include free admission days, and its target audience will consist of heads and chief designers of defense enterprises, military delegations from foreign states, and Ministry of Defense specialists, emphasized another source.
The updated format of the "Army-2024" forum will be held from August 12 to 14 at the Patriot Congress and Exhibition Center.
Last year, the event ended in failure: delegations from over 60 countries attended, to whom Russian President Vladimir Putin promised a "wide selection of modern weaponry." However, the volume of foreign contracts signed by Rosoboronexport was more than three times lower than pre-war levels.
According to Alexander Mikheev, CEO of the company, contracts totaling $600 million were signed. In comparison, in 2021, 20 contracts worth 2 billion euros were signed at the same forum. As a result, the largest buyer of Russian weaponry at the "Army-2023" forum was Russia itself — the Russian Ministry of Defense signed contracts worth 400 billion rubles.
According to calculations by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), Russia lost 53% of its arms exports from 2019 to 2023 compared to the previous five-year period. By the end of the "five-year plan," Russia's share of the global arms market had shrunk to 11%. As a result, Russia lost its second-place position in global arms exports to France.
