Russia flew its new warplane, the MIG-35, at Moscow’s annual airshow, with officials hoping that it will have many eager buyers amongst the hundreds of companies attending from 40 countries.

A new generation military helicopter and a civilian airliner were also flown at Zhukovsky International Airport, about 40km south-east of Moscow

Economic sanctions over the war in Ukraine have hit its aviation industry and in an address, President Putin said more state aid would be on offer.

“In recent years the sphere of airspace has received significant state support. Our positions in military aircraft building and in the sphere of airspace are as strong as before. We are going to strengthen the potential of these industries,” Putin said.

EU states can no longer export dual-use equipment for military manufacturing and they’re also banned from doing arms deals with Russia.

But Russia insists that the sanctions have helped both industries.

“Finally, our industry has profited by them because we have started to produce everything on our own,” Dmitry Shugaev, the head of Russia’s Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation.

In the past decade Russia has increased its military spending by over 80 percent, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.