A total of 265 billion rubles ($3.59 billion) in contracts were awarded to various aerospace and defense companies that attended the MAKS 2021 International Aviation and Space Salon held from July 20-25 outside Moscow.
According to the organizers of the biennial event, 831 firms from around the world took part in the event, with participating countries showcasing their aerospace technologies.
“The 15th MAKS 2021 aerospace show has exceeded the results of 2019 in terms of the number of contracts signed and the scale of the business program,” a spokesperson said, adding that some companies attended online due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
$1.2 Billion in Contracts to Rosoboronexport
The air show turned out to be a tremendous success for Russia’s state arms exporter Rosoboronexport, as it won one-third of all contracts awarded during the event.
The company signed 13 contracts worth $1.2 billion, including exports of its Sukhoi Su-30 fighters, Mi-35M and Mi-17B5 helicopters, Protivnik-GE radars, and a Russian fourth-generation infrared surface-to-air missile.
Rosoboronexport has also been contracted to supply a variety of modern air defense weapons and armored vehicles.
“Rosoboronexport used the potential of MAKS-2021 to its maximum, inking 13 export contracts to supply Russian defense products worth over one billion euro, on the sidelines of the air show,” Rosoboronexport executive Alexander Mikheyev told Russian media outlet Izvestia.
Rostec Subsidiary Supplying Mi-8AMT Helicopters
The Russian Helicopters Group, part of industrial conglomerate Rostec, also signed an agreement with Russian airline UTair to supply 50 Mi-8AMT helicopters during the event.
The Mi-8AMT is a medium, twin-turbine helicopter manufactured at the Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant, Kazan Helicopter Plant, and Ulan-Ude Aviation Plant. It has a maximum flight range of 1,065 kilometers (661 miles).
According to UTair CEO Andrei Martirosov, the vehicles will be used to transport passengers and cargo for the country’s oil industry.
The airline now has more than 100 Mi-17-class helicopters. The procurement of the Mi-8AMT, which can carry up to 27 passengers or 4 tons of cargo, is said to play a central role in the company’s expansion plans.
