The main goal of the ARMY forums is to demonstrate to the world public the advanced achievements of the Russian defence industry, to develop military-technical cooperation with foreign countries, to create conditions for the search and implementation of innovations in the field of security, and to promote military and dual-use products both internally and externally markets. The past five forums suggest that the implementation of the goals is successful. “In a fairly short period of time, this project, unique in scale, has received international recognition and has become the main event of the year for professionals in the military-industrial complex,” said Sergei Shoigu. “Despite the sanctions that were introduced to slow down, including the scientific and technological progress of Russia, the enterprises of the military-industrial complex not only resisted, but also increased the positive dynamics of development.”

Trillion rubles of contracts

Truly historic for the domestic defence industry was the third day of the IMF “ARMY-2019”, when the military department issued 46 defence contracts to 27 defence industry enterprises totalling over a trillion rubles. The most important documents were signed at the congress center of the Patriot exhibition complex in the presence of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Russia. In addition, during a visit to the main venue of the Forum on June 27, 2019, Vladimir Putin visited the exposition in Pavilion A and other exhibition venues.

Although most of the state contracts signed that day fell on equipment for the Navy, in particular, nuclear submarines of project 885M Yasen-M and diesel-electric submarines of project 677 Lada, they received their part of the pie Aerospace forces. The most important part of the purchase of aviation property, of course, is the contract for 76 fifth-generation Su-57 fighters and promising air-to-air missiles for them. Announced by the President when visiting the GLITs them. V.P. Chkalov in May, he was signed a month and a half later in Kubinka.

Recall that at last year's Forum the military department ordered a pair of aircraft of this type in addition to ten prototypes, by then already built and circled. It is assumed that many prototypes and vehicles of the initial series will be brought to the level of customer requirements and will also go to the troops. Thus, taking into account the June purchase, we can talk about the supply of VKS in a total of more than eighty fifth-generation fighters.

Unfortunately, the full-scale Su-57 was not exhibited at ARMY-2019, at least not in an open exhibition. But the next type of aircraft, ordered for the Russian Aerospace Forces, could be seen at once at three exhibition venues of the Forum. According to the documents signed at the Forum, the airborne forces will receive additional anti-aircraft missiles for the S-400 Triumph air defence systems. True, how much and which ones, there is no information. Full-scale system elements were demonstrated at the Kubinka airfield, the open exposition of the Kogressno-Exhibition Center (CEC), as well as in front of the indoor pavilions of the Aerospace Forces Cluster.

The next type of armament, an order for which was placed at ARMY-2019, was helicopters. Army aviation will receive 98 strike Mi-28MN and ten transport and assault forces Mi-8AMTSH-VN. Note that the first type has not yet been put into operation, and so far exists only in the form of prototypes undergoing testing. On the eve of the exhibition, the head of the Russian Helicopters holding Andrei Boginsky told reporters that a couple of experienced “night hunters” in the new configuration had already been handed over to the aerospace forces to participate in state tests, and six more vehicles of the installation batch would replenish troops in a year. And the chief designer Vitaliy Shcherbina said that the Mi-28NM can use a wide range of airborne weapons, including air-to-air and air-to-surface missiles. The most sensation was among the international aviation community has produced information about the integration of a new extended range missile into the arms of the helicopter, the name of which has not yet been officially announced. It is only asserted that the new weapons allow the Mi-28NM to hit ground targets without entering the enemy’s air defence zone.

Ten contracted Mi-8AMTSh-VN will be transferred to the Ministry of Defence in 2020-2021. “Based on the experience of the combat use of Mi-8-type vehicles, we embodied a number of solutions in this helicopter, which significantly increase its combat effectiveness and survivability. One of the key goals of the modernisation was to increase the safety of the crew and the landing, therefore, the Mi-8AMTS-VN received improved fuselage armour protection, which ensures the fulfilment of tasks even in conditions of fire resistance,"said Boginsky. They will differ from the Mi-8AMTSh-VA serial model exhibited in Kubinka in a more updated set of on-board electronic equipment, including a “glass cabin”, powerful engines with improved altitude and climatic characteristics, a supporting system with composite rotor blades and an X-shaped tail rotor. According to a press release, this will be reflected in an increase in flight speed and maximum take-off weight up to 13.5 tons. Unlike previous versions of the Mi-8, the version of the “AMTS-VN” will additionally carry a pair of 12.7 mm caliber machine guns mounted on special suspension trusses.

Official information

The main source of information about the events of “ARMY-2019” for journalists accredited by the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation and working in the press center of the exhibition was the daily briefings of the head of the Main Department for Research and Technological Support of Advanced Technologies (Innovative Studies) of the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation, general Major Andrei Goncharov.

Note that Andrei Mikhailovich is a graduate of the Smolensk Higher Anti-Aircraft Missile Engineering School and, subsequently, the Military Academy of Air Defence of the Ground Forces. After serving in combat units, he was engaged in research and teaching activities, including in the walls of the A.F. Mozhaisk and the Military Academy of Aerospace Defence named after Marshal G.K. Zhukov. Doctor of Military Sciences, professor, full member of the Academy of Military Sciences, member of the Special Expert Council on Military Science and Technology of the Higher Attestation Commission at the Ministry of Education and Science of Russia. He took part in fifty research projects, of which in fourteen - the supervisor; The author of 165 publications. He holds the post of head of the Main Directorate of Scientific Research in accordance with the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of May 3, 2019.

According to Goncharov, the total number of employees of industrial enterprises, government representatives, members of foreign delegations, military experts and other specialists who visited the Forum in Kubinka (including Patriot Park, Kubinka airfield and Alabino training ground) on the first day was 49422, in the second - 76429, in the third - more than 52 thousand people. In a word, the attendance of the Forum in the first three days, focused on specialists, amounted to about 178 thousand people. Among them are the creators of military equipment, representatives of the main customer and foreign buyers, as well as scientists, engineers, and other specialists.

Scientific and business program

Under the leadership of Andrei Goncharov, the scientific and business program of the Forum has become even more extensive. This summer, it included 173 events versus 155 a year and 140 two years earlier. Most of them took place in the building of the Congress Center of the Patriot Park and in specially designated halls of the central exhibition halls A-D, and some in the aviation direction - at the Kubinka airfield.

The tight schedule of the first day of the IMF “Army-2019” forced to limit itself to only four events. Nevertheless, they attracted 944 specialists, including military leaders, high-ranking officials, parliamentarians, foreign guests, industrialists and entrepreneurs. Over the next couple of days, fifty to sixty events were held as part of the scientific and business program. In fact, for three "business" days of the forum, 114 events were held that attracted more than six and a half thousand specialists. Domestic and foreign experts continued their work after the Forum opened its doors to all comers. For example, on June 26, the attendance amounted to 3411 people, on June 27 - more than two thousand. So, on June 28, more than four thousand people took part in 45 events, including 162 representatives of foreign countries - China, Mexico, Nicaragua, India and Saudi Arabia. The thirteen events took place on Saturday, June 29, and another, final, on Sunday. In total, the events in the framework of the scientific and business program paid attention to eleven thousand six hundred people, including two and a half thousand highly qualified specialists (against 8600 and 2000 in 2017).

The most interesting events on aviation topics were the Conference "Vision Systems for Aircraft Control and Navigation" held on June 26, and the "Advanced Radio Engineering Navigation and Landing Systems for State Aviation Aircraft Based on Global Satellite Systems and Their Functional Additions" June 27th . A round table on the topic "Discussion of the prospective replacement of the existing An-26 transport aircraft with the IL-112V new generation light transport aircraft" was held on June 28, and "The problems of group use (swarms) of unmanned aerial vehicles" - June 29. Among other events that have attracted increased attention of aviation specialists, we note the briefings “Technology Transfer in the Field of Military-Technical Cooperation” and “Directions for Improving the Energy Ballistic Efficiency of Power-Plants for Aircraft”.

Among the events of June 26, it is also worth noting the past meeting of the State Duma Committee on Defence. It was devoted to the consideration and approval of proposals for improving the legislative framework governing the topographic and geodetic and navigational support of the state’s defence and security management system, and the initial data for constructing a promising structure for topographic and geodetic and navigational support.

Foreign participation

Foreign participation in international military-technical forums on the territory of Russia is indicative: over the five-year period it has been growing steadily. So, compared with 2018, the number of countries participating in the forum (in terms of the number of official delegations at the opening) increased from 118 to 120 (in 2017 there were 114). This summer, ten states were represented at the level of heads of military departments, another five at the level of chiefs of staff. Twenty-five powers were sent by delegations led by deputy defence ministers, sixty-three formed them from embassy staff, and sixteen from military experts. The total number of ambassadors of foreign states as part of official delegations on June 25 was 540, and more than seven hundred in all. The status and number of foreign guests convincingly testifies to the strengthening of military-technical cooperation between Russia and foreign partners.

Among the thousand three hundred industrial enterprises and organisations represented in the central exhibition halls (pavilions A, B, C and D with a total area of ​​over 40 thousand square meters), 101 companies from fourteen foreign countries were promoting their products at the IMF “ARMY-2019”, against 58 firms in 2016, 78 in 2017 and 84 in 2018. The list of countries with national expositions continues to expand. Their number increased from five in 2015 to eight, then ten and now - fourteen,” Goncharov noted. “For the fifth year in a row, the exhibition continues to break its own records for key indicators. This is a stable trend that has become characteristic of the Kubinka Forum,” concluded Andrey Mikhailovich. According to him, close cooperation was achieved between the scientific community, enterprises of the military-industrial complex and ministries of defence in the interests of creating promising models of weapons, military and special equipment.

The forum is set as a place for important bilateral talks at the level of heads of defence departments: there were three of them on the first day of work. The envoys of thirty-three countries took part in the plenary meeting “Uniting the World, Preserving the Future”, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Ivanovich Borisov. The FSVTC leadership of Russia held negotiations with the envoys of Angola, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Vietnam, Kazakhstan, China, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, etc. And Rosoboronexport received the delegations of Angola, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Jordan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkey. The forum is also of interest as a platform for meetings between delegations of foreign states. The visits of foreign delegations to the national expositions of the participating countries were noted, with the most popular Indian and Chinese stands.

Foreign delegations paid close attention to the expositions of the leading holdings of the defence industry complex of Russia, located in six separate pavilions (Rostec, UAC, OSK, TRV, Almaz-Antey, Kalashnikov) with a total area of ​​over 37 thousand square meters. At the request of overseas guests, study tours were held for them on an exhibition of trophies captured from Syrian fighters, as well as museum pavilions with the equipment of past generations. There were cases when individual weapons samples that attracted foreign partners were demonstrated to them separately in the training conditions.

In just six days of the work of “ARMY-2019,” 107 bilateral meetings were held between the host party and foreign guests, including 55 through the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation, the Federal Security Service, the Ministry of Industry and Trade and other government agencies. The remaining 52 meetings were held through Rosoboronexport and industrial enterprises. According to these indicators, this year's forum has more than doubled the previous one.

Flight program

The flight display at the Kubinka airdrome on the opening day of the exhibition included single-seat aerobatics of the Ka-52 helicopter and performances of the Swifts group (six MiG-29), Russian Knights (four Su-30SM) and Golden Eagles (four Mi -28H). In addition, at the Alabino training ground, the Il-76MD military transport aircraft performed a water discharge, the Ka-52 and Mi-35M helicopters launched S-8 missiles and fired from a cannon at targets, the Mi-8 crews flew over.

The second day of the IMF “ARMY-2019” was remembered by the arrival of more than two hundred representatives of fifteen official foreign delegations at the airport. Their envoys were sent: India, China, Thailand, Myanmar, Malaysia, Mali, Croatia, Peru, Turkmenistan, Kuwait, Iran, Switzerland, Austria, Germany and France. Especially at the request of overseas guests and Rosoboronexport JSC, the flight program on June 26 additionally included the passage of the multi-role fighters MiG-29SMT, Su-30SM, Su-35S, the front-line bomber Su-34 and the transport and combat helicopter Mi-35M. They were controlled by the crews of the combat units of the Russian Aerospace Forces.

In addition, the audience watched aerobatics on the Su-35S fighter, the Yak-130 combat trainer and the Yak-152 trainer. History buffs admired the flight of retro technology: the MiG-15UTI fighter trainer, the Il-2 attack aircraft, the Yak-52 training and Piper Cab. Moreover, the pilots of the latter conducted an “air battle”, during which a plane with crosses on the fuselage and other foreign identification marks began to smoke and was “shot down”.

More than fifty aircraft (versus thirty in 2017) were presented on the static site of the airfield (total area - over 50 thousand square meters). Most are various types that are in service with the Russian Air Force. With rare exceptions (for example, the Be-200 amphibious aircraft), they were exhibited here earlier. Among the new products in a special hangar, one could get acquainted with the Mi-38T helicopter in the version for the Russian Ministry of Defence, visually different from the previous ones with additional aerodynamic surfaces. In addition, there was also a serial Ka-52 (board 87, RF-13426), finalised according to the results of its use in the territory of the Syrian Arab Republic (ATS). According to the president of Russian Helicopters Holding Andrei Boginsky, "the optoelectronic system of the helicopter was improved, which made it possible to increase the range of detection and recognition of targets day and night.»

The increased attention of the visitors was enjoyed by the improvised exposition of the “Khmeimim air base”. There, in an open area, there were presented: a combat vehicle of the S-1 Armor complex, Forpost, Orlan-10, and Eleron-3 unmanned aerial vehicles. Nearby in the "shelters" were the Su-24M front-line bomber and the Su-25SM3 attack aircraft. Dummies of aviation weapons, the most commonly used when performing sorties, were laid out under the planes. Nearby there were residential "houses", modules of psychological unloading and preparation for flights - all, as on a "real" base. The field repair of aircraft was organised in a separate position using the example of the Yak-130 board 04 located there. In addition, the “Syrian exposition” included individual elements of the S-400 air defence system: a 5P85 family launcher and a low-altitude three-axis mobile radar detection of low-flying targets of the circular review of the combat regime of interspecific application “Podlet-K1”.

Dynamic display

The navigational, manoeuvrable and firing capabilities of the combat and special equipment of the Ground Forces and Air Defence were demonstrated daily at the Alabino training ground. The total duration of the program is one and a half to two hours. During this time, nine tactical episodes were played out by the units of the Ground and Airborne Forces together with the Air Forces, united by a single plan, as applied to the conditions of modern combined arms combat. A total of 304 instances of WWE were involved from the RF Ministry of Defence and 27 from industry (versus 288 and 26, respectively, a year earlier). Among the novelties of the 2019 show were the Tiger army car, complete with the Narcissus remote control combat module, the Athlete special-purpose vehicle, and the upgraded line of KAMAZ-43118 cars. In addition, a promising unmanned aerial vehicle from the aerial reconnaissance complex was involved.

In just five days, at the Alabino training ground, 73,000 pieces of ammunition were consumed during firing, including unguided S-8 missiles, 23- and 30-mm shells for aircraft guns. Shooting with standard types of missiles and shells was demonstrated by such powerful weapons as attack helicopters Ka-52 and Mi-35M, main battle tanks T-72B3, T-80U-E1 and T-90A, multiple launch rocket systems "Tornado-G" and TOS -one. Accurate fire at targets by 9M123 missiles attracted the attention of the crew of the Chrysanthemum self-propelled anti-tank installation.

Noting, that on the eve of the opening of the IMF-2019, videos and articles on the integration of promising weapons into the Mi-28MN were released. We are talking about a light multifunctional guided missile, created on the basis of 9M123 and equipped with a multi-channel homing head. Its firing range is increased by two to three times in comparison with the index of the widespread ATGM family used by the Mi-35M and Mi-28N serial helicopters.

As usual the number of elements of a dynamic program ranged from thirty to forty. Some days, for example, Friday and Saturday, were marked by a richer program, with morning and evening shows. Given the flights of aviation over the "battlefield", the total number of elements of the dynamic program then reached eighty. On weekends, the audience watched the show “Tank Ballet” (with the participation of the T-80U-E1 and the Msta howitzer), as well as the shot of the T-80U-E1 during the ski jump. An interesting improvisation was the “battle” of a group of three restored Soviet T-34s against the T-72 disguised as the German T-VI Tiger heavy tank.

In addition to the aforementioned Ka-52 (airborne 90 (RF-13429)) and Mi-35M (airborne 18 (RF-13102)), transport and combat helicopters of the Mi-8 family took part in the dynamic display at the training ground. They were involved in the show "Polite People" on public days. Mi-8AMTS (board 74 (RF-95603)) and Mi-8MT (board 44 (RF-90396)) delivered an assault group to the "battlefield" and, "hovering" above it, gave paratroopers with personal weapons the opportunity to land on ropes and "join the battle."

The demonstration of the capabilities of floating equipment and ferry equipment in the process of overcoming the water barrier took place on the "water cluster" - Lake Komsomolsk. Self-propelled guns 2S25 "Octopus-SD", BMD-4m and other types of combat vehicles fired both from the shore and afloat. The air cover of the crossing was provided by the Mi-28N pair. However, for safety reasons, board 72 (RF-13453) and board 71 (RF-13655) did not fire, but imitated it by dumping heat traps. In addition, from a low altitude, the Mi-8 helicopter (aircraft 74) carried out the divers-scouts into the water area, who were faced with the task of secretly approaching the positions of the “enemy” followed by a surprise attack.

Here, at the Komsomolskoye Lake, the Dron-Biathlon Championship was held for the fourth time - a competition for the best control of robotics, including unmanned aerial vehicles. The organiser is the main department of the research activities of the military department. This summer, he was distinguished by an expanded nomenclature of ground and aeronautical equipment and new types of competitions for speed and accuracy. The championship aims to popularise aircraft modelling sports, attract teenagers to scientific and technical creativity.

Static sites of the Patriot Exhibition and Convention Center

The Army forums attract attention with a demonstration of advanced military equipment. The one that is presented statically is mainly located on an open area of ​​about one hundred thousand square meters in front of the central pavilions. This summer, among more than three hundred and sixty full-scale exhibits of the WWIS, about forty of those that can be attributed to the “latest examples” were exhibited. Among them stood out: the S-350 Vityaz air defence launcher, the Pantsir-SM anti-aircraft missile and cannon combat vehicle, the Lotos self-propelled artillery installation, the Drok 82mm self-propelled mortar, the RBKhM-8 chemical defence machine, and the armoured car Typhoon "with a light mine trawl, as well as a short-range UAV" Corsair "and a large-scale model of a long-range UAV" Hunter ".

In addition to them, the thematic exhibition of promising weapons and military equipment “The Army of Russia - Tomorrow” again presented the following full-scale models in a specially designated area of ​​the static site of the KVC. Fighting vehicle with a 57-mm gun “Derivation-Air Defense”, a T-14 tank and BMP T-15 on the Armata platform, BMP B-11 on the Kurganets-25 platform, BMP K-17 on the Boomerang platform, BMPT tank support combat vehicle, Coalition-SV six-inch howitzer. A range of advanced robotics, including Uranus-9, was also exhibited here. Among other interesting exhibits, it is also worth noting the export tank T-90MS (UVZ site).

Aviation enthusiasts noticed that in addition to the Mi-8, Mi-24, Ka-27M, Ka-29 and others helicopters that were previously exhibited, the Su-27UB fighter appeared here. Part of the site for the duration of the Forum was occupied by temporary expositions of Russian Helicopters (Ansat, Mi-35M and Mi-28MN), as well as unmanned reconnaissance systems, including both decommissioned and new ones received by the troops.

Note that in addition to the Forum's exhibition exposition with a total area of ​​257.6 thousand square meters, all the objects of the Patriot park, including the museum complex and specialised centres, were involved in the interests of its holding. So, a multifunctional fire center with twenty galleries was built on the territory of the park. The organisers of the exhibition emphasise that it provides firing with all types of small arms, including grenade launchers, at ranges from fifty meters to two kilometres. Fifteen galleries were used during the exhibition to show the fire capabilities of weapons. Additionally there is a Shooting Club of the Kalashnikov concern. Given this circumstance, the IMF “Army” today can be safely ranked among the best world venues for demonstrating weapons and military equipment.

The highlight of the forum was the “Innovation Day” exposition of the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation, held under the auspices of the military innovation techno complex “Era”. Its employees and attracted experts held a competition of promising projects and developments, 278 of the most interesting were selected. A consolidated register of innovations and their selection for subsequent support through the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation and other government agencies is being maintained. "Era" was awarded the "best exposition of the forum." And among the integrated holdings of the defence industry complex of Russia, the organisers noted the NPO High-Precision Complexes by awarding him the Grand Prix of the ARMIA-2019 forum.

Completion

Although the rains of June 27-28 forced the organisers to limit aviation flights, the number of visitors to the Forum continued to grow. Meanwhile, on June 29, the main site counted more than ninety thousand visitors. Beautiful weather on Sunday morning increased the interest of residents of the capital and the Moscow region to events at the Forum. Towards the middle of the day it rained again, but those who decided to visit Kubinka did not regret their choice: the airfield, the training ground and the exhibition complex were working at full capacity.

In fact, Kubinka firmly took its place among the best world venues for demonstrating armaments cooperation, and the ARMY forum was among the well recognised Russian "brands" in the world. At the same time, the exhibition continues its development, acquires new qualities and properties, implements unique formats. Here is what Andrei Goncharov told reporters on this subject: “The forum gives impulses to search for advanced, innovative solutions for their subsequent implementation in the interests of the Armed Forces. Another result is confidence building. We see this every day at the venues of the Forum. Confidence in Russia as a reliable partner in matters of military-technical cooperation, trust in defence industry enterprises as suppliers of products, and the Russian Ministry of Defence as a state customer of advanced weapons and military equipment. The next result is an increase in the authority of the Armed Forces, the attractiveness of military service and confidence in the Army as a whole. ”

Analysing the five-year history of the Forums organised and conducted by the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation, aviation enthusiasts are pleased to note the ever-growing aviation component. Moreover, it increases not only in relation to the Kubinka airfield, but also in the Alabino training ground, the Exhibition and Convention Center (Expocentre), the museum complex and other facilities of the Patriot Military-Patriotic Park of Culture and Rest of the Russian Federation. Concluding the story, we note the main feature of the Army’s IMFF, namely its interspecific orientation, which, among other things, is expressed in demonstrating the samples of the aerospace forces technology not “by themselves”, as at many other exhibitions, but in conjunction with others types of Armed Forces. The second important feature is the emphasis on Russian resources, technologies, experience and capabilities. In the light of the known geopolitical changes on the world stage, this gives the events in Kubinka a completely different color.