A Russian tank on display at IDEX 2025. (Agnes Helou / Breaking Defense)
IDEX 2025 — Two years after being relegated to a separate pavilion at the International Defense Exhibition and Conference (IDEX) in Abu Dhabi, Russian defense companies were back inside the conference center for this edition, where they took the opportunity to show off their wares — including several systems informed by their experience in the conflict in Ukraine.
A full-sized main battle tank was on display, equipped with what appeared to be significant modifications like a metal cage, layers of chains, reinforced rubber shields and a green leather-like cover low on the tank intended to reduce the vehicle’s heat and radar signature.
“This configuration of the T-90MS Main Battle Tank is the latest one. It features multiple protection against almost any threat, rocket propelled grenades, anti-tank guided missiles with high scores of anti-tank warheads, including those of tandem structure, unmanned aerial vehicles [and] first-person-view drones,” a RosoboronExport official told Breaking Defense at the show last week.
The official declined to say whether that particular tank had participated in the battlefield in Ukraine, but said that it is fully operational.
One of the reasons the government-owned organization decided to ship and display a tank of this size and other equipment at IDEX in Abu Dhabi, particularly, he said, was to “demonstrate to the whole world the effectiveness and power of the Russian military hardware and the approaches of our experts.”
At the last edition of IDEX, which took place in early 2023 and just a few months after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Russian companies were not listed as official exhibitors. Instead they were grouped together in an outdoor pavilion — one that happened to be just yards away from a US Army tent. This year several Ukrainian defense firms were also present at IDEX, all just steps away from Russian firms. (Ukrainian industry officials at the show were not immediately available for comment at IDEX; Breaking Defense has requested follow-up interviews.)
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Such is the nature of international defense shows in general, but the welcoming back of the Russian firms inside IDEX this year coincided with Gulf nations playing a key neutral, diplomatic role on the world stage as well. While IDEX was going on, Saudi Arabia hosted talks between the US and Russia concerning the fate of the war in Ukraine, and the United Arab Emirates hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Elsewhere in the Russian floor space Kalashnikov displayed its Kub-10E loitering munition on its stand, just next to High Precision Complexes Holding’s Pantsir-SMD-E air defense system, which itself sat next to other launchers. Unmanned Systems Group displayed its “combat-tested” Supercam S350 UAV with Vertical Take-off and Landing capabilities.
Another Russian firm, The Ural Works of Civil Aviation, debuted internationally the export version of what it also called its “combat tested” Forpost UAV, according to the firm’s statement.
That so many Russian firms attended IDEX is no surprise, as Middle East and African nations account for fully half of RosobornExport’s orders, according to a TASS report.
“We implement and discuss with partners projects on cooperation in the area of arms and military equipment for all types of armed forces,” TASS reported CEO Alexander Mikheyev as saying.
