Belarus presented more than 100 new developments at MILEX-2019
The Exhibition of Arms and Military Machinery MILEX-2019 opened in Minsk. Among the participants are more than 160 manufacturers and exporters from Belarus, Azerbaijan, Germany, Italy, Kazakhstan, China, Poland, Russia, Serbia and South Africa. About 60 official foreign delegations arrived in Minsk.
Two combat episodes were shown to the guests. In the first one, an assault of an unnamed hill during World War II was staged. A company of Red Army fighters fought the Nazis. Self-propelled vehicles were used on both sides, the hill was shelled by mortars. As expected, the assault ended with the victory of the Soviet soldiers.
The second episode was interesting because modern models of military machines manufactured and accepted by the Belarusian army in recent years were used there. These are the Cayman armoured vehicles, the upgraded BTR-70-BM, as well as the MZKT-500200 truck tractor, designed for towing the 2B23 Nona artillery system.
Destruction of an armed gang, which invaded the territory of Belarus, was demonstrated. At the same time, according to the scenario, a pilot of the Belarusian plane was shot down. He was evacuated by the soldiers of the Special Operations Forces in a helicopter.
The main exhibition is located in the Sports complex “Minsk-Arena” and on the adjoining open area.
State Secretary of the Security Council of Belarus Stanislav Zas, Chairman of the State Military Industrial Committee Roman Golovchenko and Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces - First Deputy Minister of Defence of the Republic of Belarus Oleg Belokonev took part in the official opening ceremony of the pavilion with the manufacturers’ stands. In his welcoming speech, Chairman of the State Military Industrial Committee said that even though MILEX occupied about 20 thousand square meters, it was still not possible to accommodate all those who wanted to take part in the event.
A stand with small arms meet guests at the entrance. All the weapons are made in Belarus.
There are also sniper rifles - SV 01 and SV 02. “The loading principle is “bolt”. The effective firing range is 600-800 m, the accuracy range is up to one kilometre,” Oleg Tupik, a representative of BSVT-New Technologies Company, said. This is the first sniper rifle manufactured in Belarus. A modern barrel allows one to achieve high shooting performance at medium distances. The modern tactical optical sight Puma 3-12x50, made in Belarus, can also be attached to it. The option of semi-automatic fire is available.
Samples of pistols designed by Belarusian developer Igor Vasiliev – self-loading modular PSNV and PV-17 are also exhibited here. PSNV is one of the first developments of a pistol in Belarus. It is a simple and reliable weapon, built according to the scheme with a short-recoil mechanism. The accuracy is twice as good as that of Makarov pistol. PSNV comes with a magazine for six rounds. The long model for eight rounds is also available.
One of the most interesting Belarusian developments is the “Alliance” С4I system. Roman Golovchenko, Chairman of the State Military Industrial Committee, called it “Belarusian Skynet”. Due to sensors of pulse and pressure, a unit commander can see all of his soldiers and their physical condition, using a tablet. The officer is aware who of his soldiers is wounded and what is the ammunition stock. In fact, he can control the actions of his subordinates with a tablet. “A commander receives all the intelligence information from his soldiers. It is accumulated. Now the system is being tested by the Special Operations Forces”, Andrei Laikov, a representative of BSVT-New Technologies Company, said.
Outside the speed skating stadium, you can see another pride of the military industrial complex of Belarus – the national Anti-Aircraft Missile System Buk-MBZK. As Chairman of the State Military Industrial Committee emphasized, it is a completely Belarusian development. Beside the word “Buk”, there is nothing old in it. In addition, the Anti-Aircraft Missile System can also use the Belarusian missile. “It looks like its ancestor. But this is an absolutely new missile, made within the system of the State Military Industrial Committee. New technologies and composite materials were used there”, Roman Golovchenko added.
Not far from the “Buk”, the Rocket System V-300RK Polonez-M is demonstrated. Chairman of the State Military Industrial Committee recalled that in 2018 the “Polonez” was successfully upgraded to use missiles with a range of up to 300 km. This system is recommended for adopting by the Belarusian army.
The total number of new developments presented at the exhibition by Belarus is more than 100. The robotized firing system Berserk attracted evident attention of the foreigners, and the stand with small arms was also attended by many visitors. Belarusian drones also aroused interest among the guests. However, the effectiveness of the exhibition will be measured by the amount of contracts signed.
