Sep 1, 2015 Russia recently held its biggest International air show in a bid to showcase the country’s military might. The show, known as MAKS, had in attendance President Vladimir Putin alongside King of Jordan Abdullan II and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan of the United Arab Emirate.
Russian officials and members of visiting delegations watched jet pilots showing off their flying skills with various stunts while crossing the sky with stripes of colored smoke.
Prior to the Ukraine crisis that has plunged Russia’s relationship with the West to its worst level since the Cold War, the MAKS air show generated over $21 billion in deals. However this year only featured a $1billion dollar deal with Iran for S-300 missiles.
Economic crisis and Western sanctions on Russia are taking a heavy toll on Russian civil aviation companies, despite the increased demand for Russian military aircraft.
President Vladimir Putin however shrugged off concerns at the opening ceremony, saying:
“I’m convinced that, regardless of the current political environment, MAKS will serve – as before – as an efficient platform for experts’ discussions, development of industrial cooperation and finding new partners”.