International defence equipment exhibition opens in Bulgaria

The seventh Hemus International Defence Equipment Exhibition opened in Plovdiv on May 31.

Hemus 2006, being held at the International Fairground, brings to Bulgaria defence and aviation giants interested in Bulgaria’s military modernisation.

This year’s attendance is expected to top all previous records. The exhibition was opened by Defence Minister Vesselin Bliznakov. Under the patronage of President Georgi Purvanov, the forum continues until June 3. Organisers of the event are National Organising Committee, Foundation Hemus’95 and International Fair – Plovdiv.

For the first two days after its official opening on May 31, the exhibition was open only to specialists, traders and businessmen bearing invitations. For the remaining day, the event is open to the public from 10am to 5pm. For security reasons, people below 16 are not allowed into the exhibition, and carrying weapons within the exhibition is prohibited.

The first such exhibition was held in November 1994 at the Plovdiv fairgrounds and, since then, has been held during the last week of May every second year.

Its main purpose is to offer to Bulgarian and foreign participants and visitors an opportunity to establish and maintain close contacts between the country’s defence industry companies and leading manufacturers from NATO member countries with a view to joint production and design of modern armaments and overhaul of weapons and equipment.

The exhibition offers opportunities to discuss and share experiences and opinions about the latest issues related to research in the interest of defence, the defence industry, integration of production and modernisation and development of armament and combat equipment and their operational and technical compatibility.

The Hemus exhibition is intended for all Bulgarian and legal residents and entities and non-profit organisations that carry out research and development activities, manufacturing or trade in the field of defence equipment.

The subject sections are as follows: land forces; air forces; navy; antiterrorist equipment; and equipment and technologies of general use in military support activities.

Accompanying the event is the third International Conference on Euro-Atlantic Integration in Defence Research and Technology – Guaranteeing Future Capabilities, held June 1-3. This conference offers opportunities to discuss and share experience and opinions about the latest issues related to research in the interest of defence, the defence industry, integration of production and modernisation and development of armament and combat equipment and their operational and technical compatibility.

Another activity will be a shooting demonstration. Demonstration shooting will take place at the Central Artillery Technical Test Range on June 1 from 5:30pm to 7:20pm. The organisers provide transport to the range by bus, which departs at 3pm on June 1 from the parking lot in front of Pavilion 12 of the International Fair – Plovdiv.

Company presentations and seminars will be held on June 1-3.

Together with domestic participants, the list of the countries taking part in the exhibition is considerably long. The highest number of participants comes from Germany (16 companies), followed by the US with 14 entrants, and Poland and Italy with 11 and nine participating companies, respectively.

Nine countries, including Austria, Denmark, China and Lithuania, are participating for the first time in the exhibition.

Other participants come from the Czech Republic, the United Kingdom, France, Switzerland, Israel, Norway, Luxembourg,the Netherlands, Ukraine and the Russian Federation.

Among the companies are Boeing and Lockheed Martin.

The Sofia Echo