-

Russia is a traditional participant of the international exhibition IDEX (Abu Dhabi).

What types of weapons are you betting on this year?

And can we say that they are of particular interest to partners in the Middle East?

- Enterprises that are part of Rostec brought a fairly large exposition to Abu Dhabi.

Today we present about a thousand of all kinds of weapons.

However, they are mainly presented in the form of layouts.

But I hope that we will bring natural samples to the next exhibitions.

It's just that this year we faced restrictions related to COVID-19.

The main interest shown by our partners is primarily caused by unmanned vehicles.

These are unmanned aerial vehicles, unmanned small arms, made, for example, in the form of unmanned armored personnel carriers, trucks and so on.

Our enterprises are actively working in the field of unmanned vehicles, and now we can offer customers specific samples.

In particular, we have an unmanned module with a cannon.

He can independently move on the battlefield and be controlled by an operator at a fairly large distance.

Unmanned aerial vehicles in both reconnaissance and strike performances are also interesting, especially here in the UAE.

The head of the country, the crown prince, just expressed his readiness to create such high-tech products together with us.

-

Among Russian weapons, the absolute bestsellers are, perhaps, the S-400 and the Su-35 fighter.

Are new contracts expected for this equipment?

- This technique is of great interest, of course.

I will not say with whom we are negotiating and in what state they are.

But I hope that we will sign new agreements in the near future.

We usually announce about the conclusion of contracts after their signing. 

-

 As for arms exports, Moscow traditionally ranks second in the world.

Russia has about 15% of the world's arms exports.

The absolute leader is the USA,

they have more than 42%.

What is the current trend in the global arms market?

Can Russia strengthen its position, do you think?

What are the competitive advantages of Moscow?

-

We are unlikely to be able to

compete (on equal terms -

RT

) with the United States.

But as for the second place - we confidently keep this bar and will continue to do so.

I can say that our technology is no worse than European or American.

Our products, in principle, are not inferior to Western ones in terms of tactical and technical characteristics, and they are cheaper in price.

-

Let's talk about sanctions.

There is the American Counteracting America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), which provides for the introduction of restrictive measures against countries that enter into major arms deals with the Russian Federation.

And, naturally, this law has already influenced the decisions of many states.

To what extent are countries now, in principle, free in their choice?

And who can afford to ignore US threats?

- We see very strong pressure on the leaders of any countries who express a desire to acquire one or another of our weapons.

Nevertheless, many states are guided by the principle of ensuring their own security when making decisions on the acquisition of Russian weapons.

I have already said that in terms of characteristics we are in no way inferior to (products of foreign countries -

RT

) and are very competitive in price.

- Turkey is probably one of those countries.

How are negotiations on the purchase of the second batch of S-400 complexes proceeding?

And will the contract be signed despite Washington's pressure on Ankara?

- The negotiation process continues.

And we practically came to the finish line.

I do not think that the Turkish side will abandon its intention to acquire the second batch of our S-400 weapons.

Moreover, the contract provides for an option for technological cooperation, for a certain localization (production -

RT

) of those components that are used in the S-400.

  • S-400 kit at the airbase in Ankara

  • AFP

  • © Handout / TURKISH DEFENCE MINISTRY

- Ankara has repeatedly announced its intention to organize a joint production of the S-400 with Russia.

But in Moscow, there are occasional concerns that the transfer of any

military technology to a

third country, especially a NATO member,

could eventually be used against Russia.

- I can say that the S-400 is, first of all, defensive weapons, and it cannot be used in offensive operations.

Any country is able and entitled to purchase this complex.

And how it can affect the security of other NATO countries, I have no idea.

On the contrary, the Turkish side ensures the security of NATO members.

So I don't see any problem here.

- For NATO countries - yes, but for Moscow?

Relatively speaking, won't it turn against us?

- Against us?

- Yes.

- How?

- Technologies that got into NATO ...

- We do not conduct 100% localization.

Even if we wanted, Turkey would hardly be able to fully organize the production of such super-high-tech products in its country.

For this, an appropriate school must be created.

Therefore, I see no reason for concern.

- How much did the pandemic affect the implementation of the state defense order, as well as the export of military products?

Have the terms and volumes of supplies changed?

- Of course, there are many problems.

I do not at all want to say that the pandemic did not affect us.

No, on the contrary.

But problems arose, first of all, in the negotiation process - there was no opportunity to contact our partners, the opportunity to invite them to the acceptance of this or that type of weapon disappeared.

However, we nevertheless carried out this work, and by the end of 2020 we practically reached the level (of deliveries -

RT

) that was in 2019.

We have fulfilled all the contracts that were previously signed.

Both the state defense order and export contracts.

We did everything.

- What are the indicators of the corporation at the end of last year?

- I can say that we have strengthened our financial position.

Revenue for the year amounted to about 1 trillion 800 billion (rubles -

RT

).

- That is, compared to 2019, it grew by 3%?

- No, more than 3%.

We did not have a fall, on the contrary, we grew up.

Although, of course, the task was much more serious.

We thought to grow by 10-12%.

I hope that in 2021 we will still overcome the two trillion barrier.

- Naturally, I cannot but ask about the diversification of the military-industrial complex.

By 2025, the share of civilian products in Rostec should reach 50%.

How realistic is this?

- Quite realistic.

Today this share reaches 33% in our country.

This is much higher than the average for the Russian defense industry, where the figure is 24%.

I think that by 2025 we will still reach 50%.

We are actively developing the production of medical equipment and other high-tech products related primarily to the environment.

We manufacture special detectors that determine the purity of the air.

Recently, our company "Shvabe" has created a device that can detect up to 80 different viruses and bacteria.

If the concentration of a particular virus exceeds a certain limit, then a corresponding signal is sent to the monitoring center.

We would like to install such sensors in crowded places: train stations, airports, sports facilities.

This device is now being tested.

  • Sergey Chemezov at IDEX-2021

  • Facebook

  • © Rosoboronexport.Russia

- The head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov said in one of his interviews that the terms of the civil liner MS-21 program had been adjusted.

In particular, the certification period has shifted to 2021 due to the sanctions affecting the supply of certain components.

What is the current situation with missing materials?

- Our main problem is composite materials for the wing, which we could not produce.

Previously, we were banned from the supply of raw materials that we received from one of the companies in the United States.

To get out of this situation, it was decided to create a domestic analogue.

As a result of joint work with Rosatom and the institutes of the Academy of Sciences (RAS. -

RT

), these raw materials were created.

Today the wing for the MC-21 is undergoing certification tests.

I hope that by the end of this year we will complete them and in 2022 we will start mass production of the car.

The aircraft is already equipped with its own engine (PD-14. -

RT

), which is now undergoing certification.

- “Rostec” is placing special emphasis on the development of artificial intelligence technologies, the development of ground combat robots is underway.

Could you tell us about this?

- As for artificial intelligence in general, it has been used in the defense industry for a long time.

These are, for example, homing systems, autopilots.

Today we manufacture combat modules that are controlled by the operator at a fairly large distance.

Another area of ​​ours is unmanned aerial vehicles, also part of artificial intelligence technologies.

If we are talking about our reconnaissance vehicles, then they transmit all the collected information to the operator at the control center, and the attack drone itself determines the targets, performs guidance and bombardment.

See RTD for the full interview.