Russia and the United Arab Emirates have agreed to further cooperate in the industrial sector, more specifically in the manufacturing of military vehicles. An agreement to this effect was signed at the arms exhibition, IDEX 2017. Stay tuned to find out what prospects have opened up by this step.

This is a unique opportunity to see military technology from all over the world. It seems that a record number of agreements will be signed at IDEX this year, and this is something no international journalist could miss.

The biggest question keeping the Russians on their toes is whether Arab investors will buy shares of the company Russian Helicopters. Rumors about this deal have been circulating since last summer. Here, Denis Manturov is walking into the final round of negotiations with the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed Al Nahyan. The matter's been decided: 12% of the helicopter company will go for about 300 million dollars. "The 12% share is the first deal closed by the Russian Direct Investment Fund which is partnered with many Middle-Eastern investors including investment funds from the UAE".



Russian military technology has always attracted interest in the Middle East. One of the countries in the region, whose name hasn't been disclosed, will receive a shipment of T-90MS tanks, while the hosts of the exhibition, the United Arab Emirates, are planning to purchase some world renowned SU-35 fighter jets, Over the course of the next 7-8 years they will also collaborate with Moscow on designing a fifth generation lightweight jet fighter. "Having completed the designs, we'll move here for manufacturing. It's going to be a joint production project. We'll be making planes both for the UAE and for third markets".

The exhibition displays all sorts of things related to the military, from tanks and armored personnel carriers to complex optical instruments and small arms. Abdullah, an engineer in a local arms company, enthusiastically explains the features of the automatic rifle: "It uses rounds of the same caliber as a regular rifle, but it can shoot like an assault rifle". And this is an exhibit of German origin: a screen and a joystick to try your hand at operating a tank.

- Have you played video games when you were young? Of course.

– How was it?

– Same as this machine.

Some of the IDEX visitors confess that the interest in Russian products increased significantly after Russia's military operation in Syria. And according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade this year will be at least as good as the previous one in terms of collaboration in the defense industry: "The results of 2017 will be more or less the same as for the previous year which is about 14 billion dollars. And when it comes to the civilian branches of this industry, I believe the results will be even slightly better".

That being said, IDEX, too, is about to break its own record. Last year, the total value of defense contracts amounted to 5 billion dollars. This year, it's 4 billion in the first day alone.

Weapons are probably the biggest weaknesses of the stronger sex. The exhibition in Abu Dhabi is not only contracts worth billions, but also a chance to shoot simulator guns, like this grenade launcher.