Many of them brought their children along who are finding immense enjoyment amongst the mock-up and acting models of tanks, planes, armored vehicles and missiles as well as samples of genuine weapons, mostly assault rifles and pistols.
The Izhmash stand featuring samples of the famous Kalashnikov assault rifle attracts particularly big crowds. Representatives of Izhmash let visitors touch and hold the famed weapons and even be photographed, a rifle in hand, against the background of a vast portrait of the legendary Russian arms designer Mikhail Kalashnikov.
The Russian section of the exhibition was quite a popular place in the earlier days of restricted access as well. According to Nikolai Dimidyuk, the head of the Russian delegation there, the Russian section was visited by as many as nine official delegations representing the full scope of Indonesia's leadership ranging from the country's President to commanders of all Indonesian armed forces' arms and branches. The Russian exhibits also drew interest of medium ranking commanders and military specialists, including from other countries of the region.
"In my opinion, the exhibition has proved to be a success," Mr. Dimidyuk pointed out, "The region has a great potential for us; Russian defense companies are enjoying a very good reputation here, and the Indonesian side has displayed an unprecedented interest in our military equipment and machinery," the head of the Russian delegation said.
"Indonesian officials have shown their greatest interest in the Sukhoi aircraft. They plan to purchase more of those in the years to come. It is along-term project. In addition, our cooperation envisages further expansion in supplies of Russian air defense weapons. The Indonesian side plans to purchase both long- and medium-range air defense systems. They are primarily interested in acquiring our TOP-M1 and BUK-M1-2 systems," he said.
They have also shown interest in buying midget submarines capable of operating in shallow waters and straits. "We have offered a very good model of such submarines for their consideration," Mr. Dimidyuk pointed out.
Despite the fact that originally Indonesian military experts showed little interest in the armored vehicles on display which, in their opinion, are too heavy for Indonesia's numerous light-weight bridges, Russian defense engineers still managed to draw their attention to our models of amphibious armored infantry carriers (AIC) and armored personnel vehicles (APV), the lightest in the world.
The head of the Russian delegation does not rule out a possibility of developing a target program of arms supplies in the future. "If Indonesia comes out with such an initiative we are ready to take part in this kind of program," Nikolai Dimidyuk said.
He also believes that it is possible to upgrade the arms and military equipment supplied to Indonesia under Soviet-era agreements. "In addition, we are ready to upgrade foreign-made armaments and bear responsibility for their compatibility with Russian weapons, which could eventually result in creation of an integrated national armaments system," Mr. Dimidyuk underscored.
On the whole, in his opinion, the exhibition has laid a very good groundwork for further expansion of the military and technical cooperation between Russian and Indonesia.
