This year’s MAKS airshow has proven to be an effective sales platform for Russian companies, as they expect to ink multi-billion-dollar deals on exports of military hardware, according to the state arms trade agency.

Official arms exporter Rosoboronexport said that it held more than 200 talks and consultations during MAKS 2019, which wraps up on Sunday. The main results of the international aviation and space salon are new contracts on deliveries of Russian-made jets, helicopters, and air defense systems, according to the arms corporation.

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“The successful implementation of those projects that we have discussed with our partners these August days will bring Russian enterprises several billion dollars,” Rosoboronexport CEO Aleksandr Mikheyev said. He added that the funds will be used to develop modern production facilities and pay for specialists’ work.

The agency currently has orders totaling US$50 billion. Since the beginning of the year, it has exported military equipment worth more than $8.5 billion, more than half of which came from aviation and air defense systems.

MAKS 2019 kicked off at Zhukovsky International Airport near Moscow on Tuesday. The first three days were dedicated to the business program, before the exposition was opened to the public on Friday. This year, the airshow saw a record number of visitors, exceeding 203,000, the organizers announced on Sunday.

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Dozens of contracts were signed during the business part of the show. The first aviation deals were signed on Wednesday, including agreements of intent for the delivery of 20 of Russia’s newest MC-21 narrow-body passenger jets to three customers. Another deal concerned supplies of Superjet 100 (SSJ100) aircraft and 10 Mi-8AMT helicopters. Among other deals on Thursday, Russian Helicopters Holding Company and Polar Airlines signed a contract for the delivery of seven upgraded Ansat helicopters, adapted for operations in the Far North.

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