State-of-the-art weaponry presented at int’l military expo in Russia

State-of-the-art weapons, including tanks, artillery and air defense systems, are on display at the international military expo “Army 2016” outside Moscow, with 80 delegations from across the world attending.

The event was opened Tuesday by Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu and is set to wrap up on August 11. It is hosted in the military “Patriot” park just outside Moscow and covers over 140,000 square meters.

The exhibition is set to include air-and ground military hardware presentations, according to a statement by Shoigu. The perspectives and development of the state-of-the-art-technologies in the military sphere will be debated at roundtables and conferences.

During the first day, the expo already welcomed some 43,000 visitors, according to the organizers. For the first time the exhibition, launched last year, included a "real battle” simulation presented to the foreign delegations by various branches of the Russian military.

Tanks in several modifications, fire launchers, air-defense systems such as Panzir-S, as well as drones and armored personnel carriers were among the military hardware showing off their skills while fighting a potential enemy. The “dynamic display,”,as it is called by the organizers, also involved Airborne as well as army engineer units.

More than 1,000 Russian manufacturers, researchers and members of the military universities are taking part in the event. The exhibition also became the first place where the renowned Russian producer of assault rifles Kalashnikov has presented the prototype of its new sniper rifles SVK and VSV-383.             

The “Army 2016” expo has welcomed 80 foreign delegations, including from Europe, America, Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

“This large-scale event provides an excellent opportunity for the communication between Russian and foreign developers and manufacturers of military and dual-purpose hardware. The latest scientific and technological achievements are being presented here not only at the stands, but rather in a dynamic way on the ground and in the air,” Shoigu said on Tuesday, TASS reported.

READ MORE: Pilot batch: Russian military get first T-14 Armata tanks

The event has already seen some high-level talks, with President Vladimir Putin meeting the king of Bahrain, Hamad bin Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa. Both countries are already involved in military cooperation and further steps are set to be discussed at the expo, according to RIA Novosti.

Russian Trade Minister Denis Manturov conducted talks with the Egyptian delegation, discussing a boost in military cooperation between the two states.

According to the organizers, the foreign delegations expressing interest for the military hardware will be able to test it for real in the territories provide by the expo.