Preview: Vietnam seeks to boost domestic defence industry as it hosts arms fair

Textron

19/12/2024 01:58

(Repeats story published on Dec 18 with no changes to text)

        * 
      Big arms importer Vietnam seeking to become an exporter of
weapons
    

        * 
      Arms expo will host about 250 companies from dozens of
countries
    

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      Among exhibitors are Iranian, Israeli, Russian, Ukrainian
and US
firms
    

  
    By Francesco Guarascio and Khanh Vu
       HANOI, Dec 18 (Reuters) - Vietnam will showcase locally
made weapons at an international arms fair in Hanoi on Thursday,
as it seeks to boost its domestic industry and possibly export
military equipment.
    Among the nearly 250 exhibitors will be top defence
companies, including from the United States, Europe, Turkey and
countries at war with each other, such as Israel, Iran, Russia
and Ukraine.
    The Southeast Asian nation is a major importer of weapons,
especially from Russia, having invested for years in its defence
capabilities in an unstable region where it has clashed with
China over boundaries in the South China Sea.
    But recently it has also bolstered its domestic defence
industry and promoting exports of military products is now a
priority, defence ministry officials have repeatedly said.
    State-owned defence firm Viettel and other local companies
will showcase missile defence systems, drones, air defence
radars, armoured vehicles and artillery, according to defence
ministry media.
    Some of these weapons will be displayed for the first time,
said Nguyen The Phuong, an expert on Vietnam security at
Australia's University of New South Wales.
    He noted a key strategy to strengthen the local industry had
been the signing of deals with foreign arms exporters to have
some of their components produced in Vietnam.
    Talks with South Korean companies were underway for possible
new deals under those conditions, especially for artillery and
aviation, he said.
    Similar talks had also been held with companies from other
countries, including the Czech Republic, officials said.
    
    RIVALS' GEAR ON DISPLAY
    At the expo, Iran's defence ministry will have an entire
pavilion, not far from the booths of Israel's defence firms
Israel Aerospace Industries  ISRAI.UL  and Rafael Advanced
Defense Systems.
    The fair will also host a dozen booths of Russian firms and
one for Ukraine's Motor Sich  MSICH.PFT , an aircraft engine
manufacturer.
    A dozen Turkish defence companies, including Aselsan
 ASELS.IS , Turkish Aerospace Industries and Roketsan, are among
listed participants, making Turkey's one of the largest
delegations.
    China's Norinco will be one of two Chinese exhibitors, in a
first for a Vietnamese defence fair.
    U.S. defence giants Lockheed Martin  LMT.N , Boeing  BA.N 
and Textron Aviation Defense  TXT.N  will also have their booths
at the fair. 
    They have all been involved in talks with Vietnamese
authorities for the sale of helicopters. Lockheed is also
discussing a possible deal on C-130 Hercules military transport
planes, sources had told Reuters.
    Brazil's Embraer  EMBR3.SA  said it will exhibit its C-390
Millennium plane - a rival to the C-130.
    Top European defence firms will also attend, including
aerospace giant Airbus  AIR.PA , Britain's BAE Systems  BAES.L ,
Germany's Rheinmetall  RHMG.DE , Italy's Leonardo  LDOF.MI  and
France's Thales Group  TCFP.PA .

 (Reporting by Francesco Guarascio and Khanh Vu; Editing by
Lincoln Feast.)
 ((Francesco.Guarascio@thomsonreuters.com;))