The second Ural exhibition of weapons and military equipment "Uralexpoarms-2000"was successfully held at the test site of the Nizhny Tagil Institute of Metal Testing. 183 enterprises of the Russian military-industrial complex from 22 regions of Russia took part in it. For comparison, we note that 108 domestic factories from 20 regions of the Russian Federation participated in the first Ural exhibition of weapons and military equipment. This year, Uralexpoarms-2000 was visited by 443 representatives from 35 countries, including those that are members of NATO. Delegations from Iran, Turkey, Kuwait, Finland and Cameroon showed particular interest in Russian military equipment. Of course, the prestige of the exhibition was also raised by the fact that Russian President Vladimir Putin visited it, who highly appreciated the achievements of Russian defense workers and thanked the organizers of Uralzkspoarms-2000. The Supreme Commander-in-Chief personally got acquainted with the latest models of military equipment and weapons.

It seems appropriate for us to tell about the exhibition and the prospects of the Ural and Russian defense industry through the mouth of its participants - guests and hosts of Uralexpoarms-2000. Our magazine's permanent correspondent for the Ural Military District, Colonel Alexander KERDAN, has prepared material on his speeches at the exhibition and during press conferences.

Russian President Vladimir Putin: "In the 21st century, any country will be doomed to a dependent existence without a developed economy and armed forces.

It is no secret that the Government has recently been paying more attention to the military-industrial complex. We believe that the development of the military-industrial complex is one of the priorities of the Russian economy. There is a huge amount of scientific achievements and personnel that are still preserved, thank God. Therefore, the military-industrial complex can pull the entire Russian economy out of the problems that it is experiencing today."

Ilya KLEBANOV, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the exhibition's organizing Committee: "Since the early 1990s, Russia has been actively participating in international arms exhibitions. But there were no such exhibitions in Russia itself. The idea of holding a national exhibition was born in the Urals.

The Ural region is one of the basic regions of the military-industrial complex, so the initiative of the regional leadership was supported by the defense industry. At the same time, it was decided to support the exhibition at the federal level and make it permanent, held, as is customary in the world, every two years.

The arms exhibition in the Urals is not a one-off event, but a long-term joint project of the Government of the Russian Federation and the administration of the Sverdlovsk Region.

The exhibition will give a new impetus to the export of our weapons. It is known from practice that the cycle of effective work of an exhibition begins approximately with the third show. However, things turned out differently in Tagil. Already at the first exhibition, very serious procurement proposals were made, which turned into contracts...

Now about the defense order. In 2000, it will be 100 percent financed, and there will be no accounts payable."

Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation Marshal Igor Sergeev: "Russia plans to create a base for sustainable economic growth of the defense industry in 2000-2002. And the Urals, as it happened historically, has always occupied a leading place in the development of weapons. I hope he will continue to occupy it.

The weapons we create must meet the world standard or exceed their foreign counterparts in terms of their characteristics. And it should be much cheaper at the cost price."

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Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Economic Policy and Entrepreneurship Sergey GLAZYEV: "The exhibition is certainly a useful and important event, both from a political and economic point of view. By relying on expanding the export of military equipment, Russia is solving a real economic problem-ensuring its competitiveness in the global arms market. But the export of military equipment is an important political task. Organizing and holding exhibitions like Uralexpoarms. Russia solves the issue of ensuring national security, gains long-term allies, thereby reducing the external threat factor."

Governor of the Sverdlovsk region Eduard ROSSEL: "The Urals has long forged weapons for the defenders of the Motherland, and in difficult times it has become a forge for the country more than once. Let me remind you that during the Great Patriotic War, every second shell was cast from Ural steel, every third tank came out of the gates of Ural factories. The defense complex is still the hallmark of the Sverdlovsk region. Uralvagonzavod, Verkhne-Salda Metallurgical Production Association, and Machine-building Plant im. Kalinina, NPO Avtomatiki, UOMZ, Kamensk-Ural Production Association "October"...

The T-90 tank, the S-300V anti-aircraft missile system, the Meta self-propelled gun, ship - to-ship missiles, and many other types of weapons and military equipment surpass their Western counterparts in their main characteristics and are the subject of our national pride.

I think it is very important that an exhibition of this scale was held not somewhere abroad, but on the territory of Russia. This is not only the prestige of the state, but also significant savings. Suffice it to say that sending only one tank from Uralvagonzavod, for example, to an exhibition in India costs about 300 thousand US dollars. The same amount is also spent on registration, customs fees, and so on. And at any gun show there is not one or two samples... It is not difficult to calculate what it costs for the manufacturing enterprise!"

NTIIM General Director Valery RUDENKO: "The Staratel landfill was created just over 60 years ago. Then it was called the Ural artillery range. Today, there is no such training ground anywhere in the world. Even in Abu Dhabi, the track is limited, the possibilities are chamber-like. In addition, many arms exhibitions held abroad have incorporated elements of the show. Well, if something goes and shoots, then this is considered the top. For example, at the Eurosatori-98 exhibition in Le Bourget, the French presented our T-72 tank in a deep modernization version to meet NATO standards. A highly polished tank was displayed among many vases of flowers. At our exhibition, the flowers are mostly wild, in the forest-park area of the landfill. And instead of the T-72, which is no longer produced in Russia, we demonstrated the T-90S and new-generation escort vehicles, also produced by Uralvagonzavod. The Ural exhibition is not so much a holiday as an opportunity for communication between specialists who produce shooting and fighting equipment. And our institute, which used to be irreplaceable as a testing ground, is now gaining a powerful second wind in the global arms marketing market itself and giving its fellow assemblers a powerful second wind."

General Designer of UKB Transmash Yuri TOMASHEV: "The problems of the ratio of means of defense and destruction exist constantly and, in accordance with the laws of dialectics, are the driving force for the development of means and methods of armed struggle. One of the main areas of military confrontation - artillery-is no exception. Foreign countries began to show great interest in the development of Uraltransmash after the appearance of the 152-mm self-propelled howitzer "Msta-S" at international exhibitions in Abu Dhabi and Paris. Having demonstrated high maneuverability on the" ring races "with many obstacles in Abu Dhabi, "Meta" won over the participants of foreign delegations with a high rate of fire and accuracy of fire, hitting 38 targets at a distance of 15 km, firing 40 guided shells. However, due to the rather significant financial costs of transporting samples to international exhibitions, our company subsequently presented only mock-ups and advertising, and in 1999 it was not able to participate in any exhibition at all.

The organization of the Ural display of military equipment during the collapse of the military-industrial complex conversion is timely and necessary. This is the saving "straw" that can pull out defense enterprises."

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