MOSCOW. May 3 (Interfax) - Russia and Turkey are discussing projects of partnership to design prospective armaments, and Turkey is interested in a variety of Russian military products, including air defense systems, deputy head of the Rosoboronexport marketing department Vladimir Goncharov said.
"Military-technical cooperation between Russia and Turkey is demonstrating an upward trend. Since late 2016 Rosoboronexport has been holding consultations with Turkish partners on the delivery of weapons and military hardware. The republic's Ministry of National Defense takes an interest in a broad spectrum of military products, including Russian air defense systems of various ranges," Rosoboronexport quoted Goncharov's words in its report.
"In addition, we are discussing a number of projects of technological partnership for the joint design and production of prospective weapons," he said.
Rostec's Rosoboronexport is the organizer of the Russian exposition at the IDEF 2017 International Defense Industry Fair to take place in Istanbul on May 9-12. Deputy Director of the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation (FSMTC) Mikhail Petukhov will head the Russian delegation to the show, while Goncharov will be in charge of the Rosoboronexport delegation.
The Russian exposition at IDEF 2017 will be presented by Rosoboronexport and Almaz-Antey company to demonstrate over 240 types of weapons and military hardware. The Rosoboronexport stand will provide information about 200 types of products for all branches of the armed forces.
"Turkish visitors of the Russian exposition are expected to be interested most of all in air defense products, among them the S-400 Triumf air defense missile system, the Tor-M2KM anti-aircraft missile system, the Pantsir-S1 anti-aircraft missile and artillery system, and Igla-S MANPADS," Rosoboronexport said.
The company also expects the Mikoyan MiG-29M2 multirole fighter jet to catch the eye of Turkish Air Force representatives. The Arena-E active protection system (APS) and dynamic protection for armor, the Kornet-E anti-tank missile system, and various types of Kalashnikov rifles are believed to be the most promising products for the Ground Forces, Rosoboronexport said.
Rosoboronexport plans to pursue a broad business program on the IDEF 2017 sidelines, including meetings with government and military officials and businessmen from Turkey and other Middle East countries.
"Rosoboronexport expects our participation in the show to provide an additional impetus to the development of bilateral relations. This is our perfect chance to speak about unique features of Russian weapons, including those tested in a real combat environment," Goncharov said.