(RIA Novosti) - More than 250 Russian and foreign arms manufacturers are attending an international arms exhibition that opened today in the Urals region, a local industry official said Tuesday.
Russian Expo Arms 2006 is the fifth biannual arms exhibition in the town of Nizhny Tagil, the home of Russia's weapons industry, organized by the Federal Agency for Industry and the government of the Sverdlovsk Region, reports Trend.
"About 660 heads of companies, chief designers, leading specialists and developers of military equipment have registered as participants and heads of delegations at the show," the official said.
Russia will exhibit the latest models of the Su-25 Frogfoot close support aircraft, Su-27 Flanker fighter, A-50 Mainstay AWACS plane, Mi-24 Hind and Mi-28H Night Hunter attack helicopters, as well as electronic equipment and hardware for the land forces. Organizers said the previous show brought together 304 participants, including Fehlmann and Scheeberger of Switzerland, France's Huron, Weiler and Wenzel of Germany, Sweden's Seko Tools, Japan's Mitsubishi, and many leading Russian arms manufacturers.
Arms exports remain highly important for the Russian economy. President Vladimir Putin said in March that Russia had increased its military hardware exports to more than $6 billion in 2005 and had supplied weapons to 61 countries. India and China remain leading importers of Russian armaments, with an 80% share in the country's total exports, although Russia has been looking to expand its presence on arms markets in Latin America and the Middle East.
Forty-four delegations from 33 countries will attend the show, which will run until July 15.