Russian unmanned systems, which possess significant combat experience, have a chance of being in demand in Africa, leading expert in unmanned systems Denis Fedutinov told TASS following the Africa Aerospace and Defence (AAD) 2026 international exhibition, held September 16-20 in South Africa.
The expert also suggested the possibility of organizing joint technical maintenance centers and production facilities if mutually beneficial conditions are found.
"Despite the fact that companies in South African industry also offer fairly extensive lines of unmanned systems, products from the Russian unmanned systems industry have a chance of being in demand here. This is determined by the significant experience ... of combat use of Russian drones in Syria, Ukraine, and African countries, which is far from always present in the portfolios of local firms," Fedutinov said.
According to him, drones have become one of the primary means of armaments and military equipment used in modern combat, as demonstrated by the conflict in Ukraine.
"They have enabled a qualitative leap in increasing the effectiveness of forces and means while reducing losses of their own personnel. At the same time, the intensive use of drones in combat radically accelerates the evolution of unmanned systems — new systems are tested here, unsuccessful ideas are filtered out, and technical and technological solutions that have proven useful are actively scaled up," he emphasized.
The Africa Aerospace and Defence (AAD) international arms and aerospace exhibition took place in South Africa's capital, Pretoria, on September 16-20. The Russian exposition included 494 exhibits, including 30 samples of military-purpose products. At the event, Russia for the first time presented components of the "Zhnets" counter-drone system from the Rosel holding.
According to Russian Ambassador to South Africa Roman Ambarov, the exhibition confirmed the high interest of African countries in Russian defense products.
НАШ TELEGRAM КАНАЛ
НАШ VK КАНАЛ
