Southeast Asia’s largest naval, aerospace show opening in Malaysia

Southeast Asia’s largest naval and aerospace show LIMA 2017 (Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition) opens on Tuesday on the Malaysian island of Langkawi. Officials on the organizing committee told TASS it has brought together companies and organizations from 36 countries. (Photo: Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition 2017/Facebook)

LANGKAWI—Southeast Asia’s largest naval and aerospace show LIMA 2017 (Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition) opens on Tuesday on the Malaysian island of Langkawi. Officials on the organizing committee told TASS it has brought together companies and organizations from 36 countries.

All in all, more than 550 companies are exhibiting their technologies. The organizers have invited more than 300 officials from over sixty countries to visit the exhibition.

They also hope LIMA 2017 will attract more than 40,000 experts and about 140,000 visitors.

The diplay occupies an area of about 120,000 square meters. More than a hundreds aircrfaft and other units of aviationt technologies are exhibited on the static display ground and more than 60 ships and vessels of various classes are docked in the seaport.

LIMA 2017 will take five days from March 21 through to March 25.

The total value of agreements signed at the previous exhibition in 2015 reached almost USD 2.1 billion.

As many as 42 Russian companies are taking part in LIMA 2017, the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation (FSMTC) said in a press release. Their list includes the corporations Rostekh, Almaz-Antey, the United Aircraft Corporation, the United Shipbuilding Corporation, NPO Vysokotochnye Kompleksy, Shvabe, and United Engine Corporation.

“The Russian display occupies an area of 700 sq m,” the FSMTC said.

The Russian manufacturers will present information on Sukhoi-35, Sukhoi-30MKM and Sukhoi-30MKI fighter jets, Yakovlev-130 fighter trainers, Ka-52 reconnassaince and strike helicopters, airlift helicopters of the Mi-17 family, Orlan-10E and Takhion drone complexes, frigates of Project 22356 and Project 11356 families, the corvettes built under Project 20382, Gepard 5.1 patrol ships, as well as Mirazh and Mangust patrol gunboats.

Lexading the Russian delegation is the FSMTC Deputy Director, Mikhail Petukhov.

Vladimir Yereshchenko, who is heading the delegation of Russia’s defense exports corporation Rosoboronexport, said it is exhibiting more than 270 defense products at LIMA 2017.

“More than 45% of all our exports go to Asia and the Pacific,” he said. “We’re successfully cooperating with traditional partners and moving into new markets of defense technologies, including the ones for the Air Forces and Navies.”