"Everyone is interested in how the Thor performs in a combat zone."
The World Defense Show, which takes place every two years in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia's largest city, was initially designed based on the practical experience of its neighbors in the UAE, where two international arms forums have long been held: in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
But now, four years after the launch of the first arms exhibition in Riyadh, the new global arms marketplace in the Middle East is, without exaggeration, making waves around the world.
Over several years of intensive work, the Saudi forum has become a real competitor to its Emirati partners. This, however, doesn't seem to be a major concern for military analysts and journalists, as the exhibition in Riyadh generates an additional layer of modern military-technical information.
And, of course, Russia and its weapon are already traditionally present in Riyadh with their updated exhibition of weapons and military equipment.
Over the four days of the World Defense Show 2026 international arms exhibition in Saudi Arabia, thousands of guests and participants visited the Russian exhibit at this large-scale forum.
During the exhibition's business program, representatives of Rosoboronexport and Russian arms holdings held a series of meetings and negotiations with delegations from the security agencies of Saudi Arabia and other participating countries, as well as defense industry enterprises from the Middle East.
According to the Rosoboronexport press service, the Russian delegation discussed with its partners "issues of deliveries of Russian weapons products and the expansion of technological partnerships" aimed at "the joint development and production of weapons and military equipment."
Using unique technologies and experience of enterprises of the Russian military-industrial complex, of course.
As we know, arms contracts don't like fuss and unnecessary publicity, so we'll leave it to our specialists to calmly carry out their difficult work of implementing new agreements. We, for our part, will take a look at some of the weapons types that attracted particular interest from guests and participants at the 2026 World Defense Show.
First and foremost, this is the air and missile defense segment, which is most in demand in modern combat due to the continuous development of air attack capabilities. This segment was represented at the Russian exhibit by specialists from the Almaz-Antey defense holding company.
It's worth noting that the Almaz-Antey Air Defense Concern is the largest integrated association in the Russian defense industry specializing in the development and production of aerospace defense systems. The weapons products of its member companies, which have supplied the militaries of partner countries since Soviet times, are renowned throughout the arms industry and continue to attract the attention of dozens of countries.
The models of modifications of the Russian anti-aircraft system deserved special attention from the delegations of the Middle East and African countries. rocket complex of the Tor-M2 family.
In Riyadh, the basic version of the export Tor-M2 air defense system was demonstrated, as well as the Tor-M2KM air defense system in stationary and mobile versions, the Tor-E2 air defense system on a tracked chassis, and the wheeled version – the Tor-M2K air defense system.
These short-range anti-aircraft missile systems are manufactured at the Izhevsk Electromechanical Plant "Kupol" and are designed to protect land and sea military facilities and troops from attacks by aircraft, helicopters, cruise and operational-tactical missiles, aerial bombs and modern drones.
"Everyone is interested not only in the Tor air defense system's specifications, but also in how it performs in a combat zone," Oleg Golubev, a representative of the Almaz-Antey Air Defense Concern, told reporters. "We have a response to that. The positive characteristics and data we have confirm the system's capabilities."
According to the expert, these air defense systems, which can operate in conjunction with the Typhoon anti-aircraft gunner combat vehicle,Defense", providing cover from air threats even while on the march.
Military analysts note that the export potential of Russian Tor missiles remains high and has not been fully realized, especially in light of the constantly growing combat experience of these air defense systems.
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