Key Takeaways From Russia's Army-2023 Forum
© Sputnik / Kirilll Zykov
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The international military-technical forum Army-2023 wrapped up in Kubinka outside Moscow on Sunday, after the seven-day event was attended by tens of thousands of visitors and saw the signing of hefty defense contracts. What are the main results of the forum? Check out the event’s official media partner Sputnik to find out.
The Army-2023 forum, which was held in the Moscow region on August 14-20, saw several major events that took place under its aegis.
Scientific and Business Program
The Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) said in a statement on Saturday that over 15,000 specialists took part in more than 260 events of the Army-2023 forum’s Scientific and Business Program that was held at Patriot Park’s Congress and Exhibition Center earlier this week.
"The extensive program included 182 round tables, 24 briefings, 33 conferences, and 21 interdepartmental meetings, attended by at least 3,000 highly qualified specialists," the MoD pointed out.
The main goal was to attract a wide scientific and expert community to discuss issues of ensuring military security and to develop proposals for their solution, according to the statement.
The program also aimed "to determine priority areas for the development of military science and technology to create scientific and technical reserve for advanced and existing weapons."
One more goal is to promote the improvement of the procedure and conditions for introducing innovations, technologies and materials into existing and promising models of military equipment.
Moscow Security Conference
The XI Moscow Conference on International Security opened on day two of the forum, with an array of senior Russian and foreign officials delivering online speeches at the event, titled "Realities of global security in a multipolar world."
In his video address to participants, Russian President Vladimir Putin stressed the importance of conducting global security-related discussions "in the context of the formation of a multipolar world," of which he said Russia remains a "firm supporter."
The Russian head of state underlined that the multipolar world order is based on "the priority of the norms and principles of international law, as well as the sovereignty and equality of states, constructive cooperation and trust."
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, for his part, focused on issues related to Russia’s ongoing special military operation in Ukraine during his speech at the forum.
He noted that the operation “put an end to the West’s domination in the military sphere,” adding that Western countries can no longer impose their will on other nations.
Speaking at the Army-2023 expo, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, in turn, berated Washington, NATO and the EU for providing Ukraine with weapons, which he warned might spark a direct military conflict between nuclear powers. He also accused Western countries of trying to disrupt the security architecture in the Asia-Pacific region and create military blocs there for promoting NATO infrastructure.
Foreign offcials attending the forum included Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu, who emphasized that military relations between Beijing and Moscow are not directed against third countries. Li also signaled his country’s readiness to step up security work within the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and bolster defense cooperation with Iran and Belarus.
Russian MoD's Hefty Contracts
The MoD said in a statement that they clinched contracts worth more than 400 billion rubles ($4.2 billion) during the forum.
According to the MoD, when deciding which weapons to purchase, the issues related to Russia’s ongoing special military operation in Ukraine were taken into account.
Under the newly-signed contracts, Russian troops are due to receive more than 2,500 new pieces of military hardware as well as over 1.8 million shells, missiles, mines and other types of ammunition in the near future.
The military equipment includes the brand-new Malva 152mm wheeled howitzers, the upgraded version of the 2S12A 120-mm mortar systems, the Tor-M2 anti-aircraft missile systems, the Uran-6 demining robots and the Mi-8AMTSh-B “Terminator” attack helicopters, among other weaponry.
Russia's Malva wheeled howitzer on display at Army-2023. File photo
© Sputnik / Kirill Zykov
/ The MoD added in this regard that “the Research and Production Corporation ‘Design Bureau of Mechanical Engineering’ (part of state corporation Rostec) will manufacture and supply Russian servicemen with the 9M123M Khrizantema guided missiles, which are one of the most powerful Russian-made anti-tank guided munitions.”
Apart from the Malva howitzer, an array of other new Russian armored vehicles were on display at the Army-2023 expo, including the upgraded T-72BZM tank, fitted with the Triton modular suppression system, which is designed to tackle FPV (first person view) drones.
On top of that, visitors saw a new version of the AMN-590911 Spartak armored car, equipped with a 57-mm SAZP-57 cannon of the S-60 anti-aircraft artillery system. The SAZP-57 uses unitary shots with armor-piercing tracer rounds to destroy ground-armored targets
Russia's upgraded version of the Tigr-M armored vehicle on display at Army-2023. File photo
© Sputnik / Kirilll Zykov
/ For the first time on display was also the extra-protected variant of the Tiger-M armored vehicle in the Mad Max version. This modification is equipped with mounted armor plates that protect the vehicle’s wheels, doors, radiator grille, windshield and hood from small arms bullets and shrapnel. The 7.8-ton Tiger-M is equipped with the Kord 12.7mm machine gun or the PKTM 7.62 machine gun, as well as the Tucha smokescreen generation system.
Captured Ukrainian Weaponry
More than 850 pieces of trophy Ukrainian weapons being showcased at the Army-2023 Expo certainly became one of the must-sees of the forum.
Army-2023’s press service said ahead of the event that participants and guests would see Ukrainian military equipment, including Western-supplied hardware captured by Russian forces in the special military operation zone.
“The burned Australian-made Bushmaster armored car, the American M-113 armored personnel carrier, the Swedish CV90-40 infantry fighting vehicle, and the French AMX-10RCR wheeled tank will attract special attention of the visitors,” the press service added.
The trophy equipment also comprised British-made armored vehicles, such as the Husky, the Mastiff and the Saxon.
Ukraine's UK-supplied Husky armored vehicle on display at Army-2023. File photo
© Sputnik / Pavel Bednyakov
/ A significant part of the exhibition was made up of the seized weapons and armored vehicles related to the Ukrainian military-industrial complex, including modernized T-72AMT tank, armored personnel carriers BTR-3E and BTR-4E, the multipurpose armored cars such as the Varta, the Kozak and the Triton and even the Kalkan-P patrol boat.
Trophy Ukrainian Military Equipment at the Army-2023 Expo. File photo
© Sputnik / Pavel Bednyakov
/ Russia's Army Expo Gathers Strength
Summarizing the results of the Army-2023 expo, Andrei Koshkin, a veteran Russian academic specializing in military and international affairs, told Sputnik that he was pleased with "the expansion of the platform."
The Army expo "meets modern requirements and its area already exceeds 2,400 square meters, which made it possible to put over 350 types of military equipment from 30 states on display [this year]," Koshkin said.
He said that one of the highlights of the forum was a round table discussion about education as a factor in ensuring Russia's national security. The expert said that speaking at the event, he "proposed a hypothesis that education is a geopolitical resource for training personnel to ensure the security of the Russian Federation". According to him, he wanted to show that education and geopolitical risks are interrelated.
As an example, Koshkin referred to Finland, which was quick to "go the aggressive NATO bloc" because "after the Second World War, the country completely took after the education system of the US." He argued that America "raised a Finnish elite," who in turn "changed the course of development of their country."
Another example is the then-Soviet Union creating the Patrice Lumumba Peoples' Friendship University in the 1960s, which helped the USSR train the elite of many African states that are still interacting with Russia.
When asked about modern-day challenges the Russian army faces, Koshkin mentioned the Ukraine armed conflict and Kiev’s botched counteroffensive, which he said came as surprise to the West.
"Did anyone assume the failure of the counteroffensive? They all shouted that everything unfolds in line with a plan. There was a lack of understanding of the level of a present-day conflict, and no one suggested we would destroy Western military equipment in the foreground," he said, stressing the necessity of understanding the strategy for the development of Russian weapons.
The expert called for further developing "high-tech and high-precision weapon systems", including unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) such as the Lancets, which have showed "the effectiveness of destroying targets without losing human pilots."
Another field is "creating remotely controlled weapons, when a soldier sits at a computer and machines fight on the battlefield. And the outcome of this battle is the basis for resolving many geopolitical problems," Koshkin pointed out.
He separately touched upon the new Malva wheeled howitzer, saying that this military hardware will soon be mass produced for the Russian armed forces and will have “a significant impact on hostilities and increasing efficiency of our combat missions.”
Asked about prospects pertaining to the Russian military-industrial complex, the expert underscored the necessity of Moscow developing cooperation with Iran, North Korea and China, which Koshkin said would add to "creating more modern weapons systems" in Russia.
