ARMY 2023 International Military and Technical Forum closes for general public
In Moscow region ARMY 2023 International Military and Technical Forum closes for general public. 1,093,285 people visited the events during 7 days of the Forum.
The Forum has rightfully earned high prestige and recognition, has become one of the world's largest shows of innovations and modern military products, and has made a serious contribution to the development of military-technical cooperation.
The events of ARMY 2023 IMTF were held from 14 to 20 August at the main exhibition site of the Russian Ministry of Defence - in the Patriot Congress and Exhibition Centre, as well as at the facilities of the Central Military-Patriotic Park of Culture and Recreation of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, at the Alabino training ground and Kubinka airfield.
The Forum included a static exposition, dynamic and scientific-business programmes, as well as protocol and cultural and artistic events.
83 delegations of foreign defence departments took part in the events the Forum. A total of 29 bilateral meetings were organised and held during the Forum. 83 foreign companies participated in the exhibitions, more than doubling the figure of the previous year. National expositions were presented by six countries (Belarus, Vietnam, India, Iran, China, Pakistan).
From 15 to 17 August the Forum worked for specialists, delegations of foreign countries participating in scientific and business events.
From 18 to 20 August, the Forum was open to general public.
The static exposition was formed in the pavilions and open areas of the Patriot Exhibition and Convention Centre and Kubinka airfield.
About 1,500 domestic and foreign enterprises and organisations presented more than 28,000 samples of military and dual-use products in the form of full-scale samples, mock-ups and advertising and information materials.
The pavilions of the Central Exhibition Complex were introduced:
- exposition of manufacturers of radio electronics and microelement base;
- thematic exhibition 'Military Education - in the Service of the Fatherland', where advanced training systems in educational organisations of the Russian Ministry of Defence were demonstrated, taking into account the experience of troops, including in the special military operation and exercises;
- exposition 'Military Construction Complex' dedicated to the contribution of military builders to the development of the social and economic infrastructure of the Republic of Crimea and new regions of the Russian Federation;
- exposition 'Military Medicine' with demonstration of advanced technologies used by military medical institutions in treating combat traumas.
The expositions 'Diversification of the Russian Defence Industry Complex' were formed on the open area of the Patriot Congress and Exhibition Centre, in a temporary pavilion, as well as a thematic exhibition dedicated to the advanced achievements in the field of domestic artificial intelligence technologies, which was deployed at the forum for the first time. This exposition was presented under the motto 'Time for results!'. It demonstrated the best practical developments and technologies in various industries and applications, including in regions of Russia. Organisations with the best practical results acted as exhibitors.
At the specialised exposition of advanced samples of weapons, military and special equipment, the main elements of advanced reconnaissance and fire artillery complexes were demonstrated. The exposition included intelligence and control subsystems linked into a common circuit with the means of defeat. The weaponry ammunition was also presented.
This year the exhibition of developments of the Era Military Innovative Technopolis was represented by 99 exhibits and was divided into five clusters 'Artificial Intelligence Technologies', 'Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Robotic Complexes', 'Critical Information Infrastructure', 'Technological independence', 'Intelligent learning systems, digital twins', 'Perspective technologies of complex security and medical support'. The exposition was not only a platform for demonstration of innovative developments, but also the centre of thematic events of the business programme and professional consultations.
The exhibition 'Products of the Leading Enterprises of the Russian Defence Industry Complex' was held on the basis of six Demonstration and Exhibition Centres, where the key enterprises of the Russian military-industrial complex demonstrated promising developments of weapons, military and special equipment, as well as samples of high-tech dual-use products.
Large-scale expositions of the state corporations Rosatom and Roscosmos were presented on the exhibition grounds.
The Russian Geographical Society took part in the forum events. In 2023, the stand was dedicated to the key areas of the Russian Geographical Society activities, as well as projects implemented in cooperation with partner organisations and, first of all, with the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation. Visitors to the forum were able to get acquainted with unique artefacts that were found on ships that perished in the Gulf of Finland during the Tallinn Breakthrough.
In the aviation cluster at the Kubinka airfield, an exposition was formed, where modern samples of military aviation and air defence equipment, new and promising models of aircraft defeat equipment, as well as unmanned aerial vehicles were presented. Master classes on assembling aircraft models are organised for visitors.
The Polygon Club was deployed to provide information about the upcoming Army International Games-2024. It featured 22 themed areas showcasing the 35 military professional skills competitions planned as part of ARMY-2024, which included various gaming, information zones and recreation areas.
In the course of the Forum, the final stage of the All-Russian computer sports competition among cadets of law enforcement agencies was held at the Polygon Club. A total of 119 teams from 65 higher education institutions of Russia took part in the competition.
The sensation of the Forum this year was the platform of the Dronbiathlon Club, which included an extended set of events: static exhibition exposition of unmanned aerial vehicles and countermeasures systems, scientific and business programme with the participation of representatives of federal executive authorities, leading industrial enterprises, scientific and business elites, as well as heads of leading schools for training volunteer FPV-drone pilots.
The championship programme includes competitions and master classes on practical tasks of FPV drone piloting in a complex radio-electronic environment, reconnaissance and target engagement using methods tested in a real combat scenario. 51 manufacturing companies presented their samples at the exhibition area in the Patriot Park Demo Centre. Guests at the forum were shown more than 100 exhibits, and master classes were held to demonstrate the drone assembly process. The exhibition area occupied more than 1.5 thousand square metres.
A dynamic display of weapons, military and special equipment of the Army and Airborne Forces took place at the Alabino training ground during the ARMY-2023 IMTF. 'In the course of 10 events, Russian and foreign experts, as well as military attachés of the Forum's participating countries, had an opportunity to witness combat capabilities of modern weaponry, military and special hardware pieces', Osadchuk said.
The Festival 'Science and Inventions for Life' of the All-Russian Society of Inventors and Innovators (VOIR) took place during the ARMY-2023 IMTF for the first time. The project was aimed at popularising science and invention in Russia, as well as finding, demonstrating and supporting developments and solutions created by Russian scientists and inventors.
Participants and guests of the Forum were able to visit the exposition of trophy weapons and equipment captured during the special military operation. The exposition itself was formed in August 2022 and during the year of its existence it has collected more than 870 examples of weapons and military equipment. Most of the exhibits are weapons and equipment of the Ukrainian military-industrial complex. Visitors to the exhibition could see the modernised T-72AMT tank, BTR-3E and BTR-4E armoured personnel carriers, armoured vehicles for various purposes and even patrol boats used by the AFU. Ukrainian armoured vehicles Varta, Kozak, and Triton, lightly armoured boat Kalkan-P with board number BG-309, developed by the former Ukrainian plant Liman for the needs of the Coast Guard of Ukraine were demonstrated at the exhibition. The burned Australian Bushmaster armoured vehicle, the American M-113 APC, the Swedish CV90-40 BMP, and the French AMX-10RCR wheeled tank attracted special attention of the visitors. Most of the Western trophy vehicles on display were British combat vehicles: the Hysky and Mastiff armoured motor vehicles, the AT105 Saxon vehicle. The descriptions to the exhibits indicated where and under what circumstances they were captured.
Traditionally, a meeting of graduates of the Era Military Innovative Technopolis was held. About 80 people who have served their conscripted service within the walls of the Military Innovative City 2019 were participants in the event. As part of the implementation of the meeting, graduates and the management of Technopolis addressed the audience, and a 'Job Fair' was organised, where domestic enterprises, including residents of Technopolis, were presented.
A unique feature of 2023 was the simultaneous holding of several major international events at the Forum: the XI Moscow Conference on International Security and the II International Anti-Fascist Congress.
The scientific and business programme of the Forum included 260 events on topical issues of the development of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, the Russian defence-industrial complex and international military-technical cooperation, taking into account modern conditions.
The landmark events of the scientific and business programme were:
- congress 'Diversification of the Russian Defence Industry';
- congress 'Strategic Leadership and Artificial Intelligence Technologies' under the leadership of Dmitry Chernyshenko, Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation;
- conference 'Army and Society'. 'Mental Security' Strategy;
- Anniversary Scientific and Technical Conference 'Kurchatov Institute in Defence of the Fatherland'. 'History, Modernity, Future' under the leadership of Mikhail Kovalchuk, President of the Kurchatov Institute Research Centre;
On 17 August, an agreement was signed between the Main Directorate for Innovative Development of the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation and the Consortium of Robotics and Intelligent Control Systems. The document is aimed at the development of scientific and technical cooperation, implementation of joint programmes, technology transfer, experimental and developmental work, development of human resources in the field of robotics and its components.
On August 19, representatives of 51 organisations, including federal executive authorities, the ERA Foundation, Kalashnikov and Almaz-Antey Concerns and leading manufacturers of unmanned aerial vehicles took part in the plenary session of the conference 'Unmanned Aviation - Dual-Use Technologies in War and Peace' as part of the Dronbiatlon Club. The event was organised by the Main Directorate for Innovative Development of the Russian Ministry of Defence. The main objective of the meeting was to coordinate the efforts of regional centres and manufacturers of multirotor unmanned aerial systems in order to improve conditions for operator training, development and mass production of UAVs, comprehensive development and promotion of operator training schools for UAS.
The Kubinka airfield hosted eight events of the scientific and business programme on the subject of the Russian Aerospace Forces. The experts discussed the issues of electromagnetic compatibility of onboard radio-electronic means, communication means of manned aviation complexes, as well as the issues of information support of the processes of operation of military complexes.
Seven award ceremonies were held during the ARMY-2023 forum to honour the participants of the largest arms exhibition. The winners of the ARMY 2023 IMTF were honoured in 15 different nominations.
The Russian Ministry of Defence reached and granted state contracts for more than 400 billion roubles with defence industry companies at the ARMY 2023 International Military-Technical Forum. 11 contacts have been signed and 9 contacts have been reached. Upon fulfilment of the contract, the Armed Forces of Russian Federation will receive more that 2,500 2,500 new samples of weapons, military and special hardware, and over 1,800,000 pieces of armaments.
Participants and guests of the forum were able to visit the unique facilities of the Patriot Central Military-Patriotic Park of Culture and Recreation of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation: the largest exposition of historical and modern equipment at Museum Site No. 1, the Centre of Military-Tactical Games with a wide variety of team tactical games and master classes, the national treasure - a collection of armoured vehicles in the Patriot Park Technical Centre, the Main Temple of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, the Multimedia Historical and Memorial Complex 'The Road', and the Museum of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.
The audience of the forum was addressed by creative teams of the Russian Ministry of Defence, soloists from Moscow, the Academic Song and Dance Ensemble of the Russian Army named after A.V. Aleksandrov. In addition, a military-patriotic action - a motorbike rally - took place.
