Results of the first two days at LIMA-2015, held at Langkawi island (Malaysia) exceeded all expectations. New interesting prospects have emerged. Deputy CEO of Rosoboronexport Sergey Goreslavski told Rossiyskaya Gazeta about intense negotiations with leaders of the defense ministries of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries.
According to him, here at LIMA-2015, new prospects and ideas have emerged right in front of their eyes. Meeting of leaders of ASEAN countries held before the LIMA-2015 show contributed to these results. Today the association includes ten countries. Besides political leaders, ministers of defense also held their own meetings. Many of them have visited LIMA-2015 show. Sergey Goreslavski said that ongoing matters as well as new interesting projects have been discussed. Matters related to strengthening military-technical cooperation, including transfer of cutting-edge technologies to the region’s leading defense enterprises, have been considered.
The parties confirmed their interest in Su-30MK and Su-35 fighters. Bilateral negotiations on deliveries of Su-35 fighters to one of the region’s countries were started. Positions of Russian helicopters in the region are being strengthened. A breakthrough occurred in promotion of Be-200 amphibious aircraft. Initially the manufacturer expected the demand for this aircraft in the region of a thousand islands to be high. But it wasn’t all that simple. And then it was a blessing in disguise. Be-200 proved its worth during search-and-rescue operations carried out after a Malaysian Airbus disappeared in December 2014 near Java Sea.
Having assessed the capabilities of Be-200 amphibious aircraft, many countries, first of all Indonesia, were ready to consider the possibility of purchasing the jets of the type. Intense negotiations are underway. Negotiations were also held at LIMA-2015. Indonesia is also considering the possibility of expanding its fleet of BMP-3F vehicles. Only this country, besides Russia, operates these unique amphibious vehicles. Indonesian marines love Russian infantry combat vehicles.
Ministers of Defense of almost all the countries of this region expressed readiness to visit a number of defense exhibitions to be held in Russia. There will be many of them this year. First of all, this refers to MAKS-2015 airshow. International Maritime Defense Show (IMDS-2015) will be held in St. Petersburg and Russian Arms Expo (RAE-2015) will be held in Nizhny Tagil.
Delegation of Rosoboronexport held negotiations with representatives of 20 countries during the first two days at LIMA-2015, including meetings with a number of Defense Ministers. This result may be considered as a record. And the most important thing is that this was not just talking. The parties paved the way for future contracts in the area of military-technical cooperation.