OREANDA-NEWS. March 24, 2010. At the International Air and Space Fair - FIDAE 2010 to be held on 23-28 March in Santiago, Chile, the delegation of the federal state unitary enterprise (FSUE) "Rosoboronexport" will present to its participants and visitors samples of advanced military hardware made in Russia, and promote to its partners a number of new projects aimed at bolstering national defence and security of Latin American countries, as well as address some issues on implementation of continuing contracts for the delivery of Russian arms and military equipment.

"We apply integrated approach to our marketing activities by offering our partners advantageous solutions that are thoroughly balanced and tailored to meet national security needs specific to each country, - says Sergei Svechnikov, head of the Rosoboronexport's delegation, chief of the Analysis and Forecast Department of the Enterprise.

Russia's relations with Latin American countries count a long and eventful history in which military technical cooperation has always been the centrepiece. Nowadays Russia is justly considered the leading exporter of defensive arms to the region. Russian defence enterprises are active participants in major regional exhibitions such as FIDAE.

FIDAE is a biannual event held at the Arturo Merino Benitez metropolitan airport under the aegis of the Chilean Air Force with the support of the President and the Government of the Republic of Chile. FIDAE 2010 is the sixteenth show marking in fact its 30th anniversary since the inception under this title. This year the Republic of Chile will also celebrate the bi-centennial anniversary of its independence and 80th anniversary of the Chilean Air Force.

Russia started participating in FIDAE shows since 1994. The best Russian-made air systems such as Sukhoi and MiG type fighters were seen many a time flying in the skies over Santiago during their demonstration flights, and in 2002 a group of members of the Chilean parliament took off from the show grounds to make a familiarisation flight on board the Mi-17 helicopter, a follow-on modification of the legendary Mi-8 helicopter, the world's most popular helicopter in its class. The flight programme at FIDAE 2010 will be highlighted by spectacular demonstrations of the Be-200 amphibian, a unique fire-fighting aircraft that has earned an excellent reputation of forest fires extinguisher.

Besides its focus on air force and air defence weapons and equipment, FIDAE increasingly becomes a venue for exhibiting military hardware intended for navy and army. The FSUE "Rosoboronexport" pays great attention to training facilities that allow enhancing proficiency level of specialists as well as saving much time and expenses. During one of the previous exhibitions, for instance, representatives of the Chilean Ministry of Defence made training flight in the Mi-17 helicopter simulator over mountainous areas of their country. The helicopter attracted their attention thanks to its high performance that satisfies the existing requirement for helicopters of this class put forth by the Chilean armed forces.

The Russian side states that the Mi-17 military transport helicopter offered for delivery to the Chilean air force fully meets the customer's requirements for a wide range of tasks such as shipment of various cargoes and equipment weighing up to 4 tonnes inside the cargo cabin and on the external sling; transportation of up to 36 troopers (rescuers) together with their equipment; combat employment of weapon systems; carrying out of search-and-rescue and fire-fighting operations as well as landing including roller-assisted ones; medical evacuation (on 12 stretchers), and others. In case of necessity, an operator can independently refit the helicopters to convert one version into another within the shortest time possible.

The high-duty, robust and survivable Mi-17 helicopters largely surpass their rivals by many parameters. The 40-year experience of the Mi-8 and subsequently Mi-17 operations in more than 70 countries is the most striking evidence of the world-wide popularity that this helicopter brand enjoys. 

The Mi-17 helicopter can fly up to eight sorties a day in mountainous areas under harsh environmental conditions including high and low temperatures, and perform landing on unequipped and soft soil pads. These Russian helicopters are easy to maintain and repair in field conditions. They provide rapid troops dismounting (in just 15 seconds!) thanks to the cargo cabin equipped with sliding doors on either side and rear hydraulic ramp.   The helicopter is powered by two up-to-date VK-2500 turboshaft engines, each rated at up to 2,700 hp. If one engine has been damaged in combat, another engine is automatically transitioned into the emergency mode of operation allowing the helicopter to continue safe flight.

This proves that the Russian Mi-17 helicopters offered for delivery are both highly reliable and functional air vehicles that are essentially unrivalled worldwide.

The FSUE “Rosoboronexport” will showcase at FIDAE 2010 for its partners a whole gamut of aircraft, robust and efficient munitions and special-purpose systems based on advanced Russian technologies.

Both experts and trade visitors will be able to familiarise themselves with data on the latest Su-35 super-agile multirole fighter. The Su-35 is designed to win air superiority and deliver strikes against ground and maritime targets in any weather conditions at any time by day and night. It has incorporated the 5th generation fighter technologies providing high flight performance. As a result, its airspeed is rather high (2.25 Mach at 11,000-m altitude), and flight range without external fuel tanks is as great as 3,350 km. Moreover, the Su-35 aircraft can carry 8-tonne stores of various types. This aircraft can be regarded as a unique yet ideal option for any country, because the greater combat radius it has, the fewer airfields must be built for its basing, and its higher combat efficiency is, the fewer aircraft in the inventory are needed to carry out combat missions assigned.

The Yak-130 combat trainer aircraft arouses special interest after the announcement of its selection for basic and advanced training of the Russian Air Force pilots. The Yak-130 trainer jet has no equals in its class, allowing effectively training pilots to fly modern and prospective aircraft, including non-Russian origin ones, and conduct manoeuvrable air combat at high airspeeds, g-loads and angles of attack in fair and adverse weather conditions. The aircraft can be safely operated from unpaved airfields. The Yak-130 service life extends to 10,000 flight hours, and its high-strength airframe is designed to endure 30 years of operation at least. Actually the trainer design adheres to the principle of versatility: it is made to perform a variety of combat missions.

The Mi-35M combat transport helicopter is highly praised by experts for its clear individuality and high competitiveness. It has been designed by the worldwide famous Mil design bureau in cooperation with the Rostvertol production plant. The Mi-35M incorporates the best solutions of late years. The helicopter has its firepower and flight performance substantially augmented, survivability enhanced, as well as take-off weight and maintenance time decreased. The Mi-35M can effectively operate even in most complicated climatic conditions by day and night which is why it is used to transfer troops to endangered routes, ship ammunition to remote areas, suppress centres of resistance, inspect columns, evacuate casualties, and so on.

Speaking in general, the FSUE "Rososboronexport" is bringing to Santiago de Chile a set of promotional materials about all basic export modifications of Sukhoi, Mikoyan and Ilyushin type aircraft, Mil and Kamov type helicopters, air defence systems such as the Buk-M2E and Tor-M2E air defence missile systems, Tunguska-M1 air defence gun/missile system, Igla-S man-portable air defence missile system, guided missile systems, radars as well as naval and land forces weapons and equipment. More than 100 various weapon systems and military equipment made in Russia are showcased overall at FIDAE 2010.

The FSUE "Rosoboronexport" attaches special importance to discussions on repairing and upgrading previously supplied weapon systems and military equipment, setting up licence and assembling production facilities, building infrastructure installations to render integrated support services.

"Our Enterprise is taking part in FIDAE air and space shows for the tenth time now, and we are aware of a steadily growing interest in Russian-made weapon systems on the part of countries in the region. This reflects in principle a global trend for the increased share of Russian defence products in the world arms market, - underscores the Rosoboronexport's delegation head Sergei Svechnikov. - Our Enterprise's order portfolio now amounts to more than 34 bn USD with the prerequisites for the conclusion of new big contracts with our Latin American partners as well".