As part of the International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition, LIMA 2015, to be held from 17 to 21 March on the Island of Langkawi (Malaysia), Rosoboronexport, part of the Rostec State Corporation, will continue to actively promote Russian defense products in Malaysia and other South-East Asian countries.
“We have a good position in the Malaysian market and we look forward to continuing fruitful cooperation. We are ready not only to supply finished products, but also to discuss the issues of establishing joint and licensed production. We will hold talks with virtually all the commanders and senior officers of the Malaysian security and law enforcement agencies, including defense minister and commander-in-chief of the country’s armed forces. We hope that military-technical cooperation between the two countries will increase in the coming years,”- said Vladimir Ereschenko, Head of Rosoboronexport’s Regional Department, who leads the company’s delegation at the exhibition.
Major interest among Malaysian specialists is expected in air defense weapons like the Pantsir-S1 SPAAGM system and Igla-S MANPADS, as well as in Mi-171Sh helicopters. Rosoboronexport will hold a presentation of a comprehensive security system for cities, industrial facilities and state borders. In the naval sector, among Russian products that are most relevant to Malaysia are the Sobol, Mirazh and Mangust class patrol boats, an integrated coastal zone surveillance system, and a variety of shipboard weapon systems, which can also be installed on non-Russian-built ships.
For its other regional partners, Rosoboronexport will also carry out presentations of the Yak-130 combat trainer aircraft, Be-200 amphibious aircraft, Mi-35M and Ka-226 helicopters, Project 636 submarines and Project Gepard 3.9-class frigates.
Rosoboronexport will showcase a total of over 170 Russian defense products and conduct consultations with Malaysian arms manufacturers about the prospects for joint projects.
The Royal Malaysian Air Force’s Su-30MKM and MiG-29 fighters, allotted to the Smokey Bandits national aerobatic team, will traditionally participate in the demonstration flights during the exhibition.
The 1993 agreement to supply MiG-29 multi-role fighters, which later underwent heavy upgrade, became the first contract in the area of military-technical cooperation between Russia and Malaysia In the early 2000s, Russia and Malaysia signed delivery contracts for the Metis-M1 ATGM systems, Igla MANPADS and Su-30MKM multipurpose fighters. In 2007, the first Malaysian astronaut flew on board the Soyuz spacecraft to the International Space Station, as part of the offset program under a Su-30MKM delivery contract.