ASDA2011 - Small Arms Defense Journal

ASDA2011
ASIATIC SEA DEFENSE & AEROSPACE
29-31 MARCH, 2011 | SPLIT, CROATIA
First time trade shows are a bit uncertain for attendees and exhibitors alike. It’s difficult to determine which start-up
shows have a good chance of putting the products in front of the decision makers, before making the financial and time
commitment to attend. Location, time of year, competing shows, all enter into these decisions. What help’s make the
decision is who the promoter of the show is and how their other shows perform. In the case of ASDA, TNT Productions, Inc. has many other successful shows and two more military shows in the region: BSDA in Bucharest, and GDA
in Kuwait. We expected a good show, and TNT certainly made ASDA worth going to. Those who took the time to attend are, in the words of one exhibitor, “Plankholders” for future shows.
by DAN SHEA
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T
he City of Split, Croatia, was an excellent
choice for a show in the region. The April
weather is wonderful, the sights are breathtaking, the people are hospitable and the
accommodations and expenses are very
reasonable. Split is located on the Dalmatian Coast
of the Adriatic Sea, and the Croatian heritage is influenced heavily by millennia of interaction with Italy,
just across the Sea. Split is also centrally located to
many of the regional military groups, making it readily
accessible and providing a good flow of attendees. The
Spaladium Arena is under construction at present, but
it provided a nice venue in the working show area and
was easy enough to access.
Croatia is expected to enter into the European
Union in 2011, becoming the 28th official member of
the EU. They are planning to change currency from
the Kuna to the Euro in about 2016. On 1 April, 2009,
Croatia became an official member of NATO. This
has entailed many changes, but the armed forces of
Croatia must meet NATO standards, and Croatia has
earmarked approximately $4 Billion (U.S. Equivalent) for this process. The official notice says it all:
“The Croatian Armed Forces Long-Term Development Plan 2006-2015, which has been approved by
the government, details the acquisitions required to
substantially modernize the Armed Forces. The modernization plans include ongoing and future expected
procurements in all 3 major defense sectors: air, land
and navy.” This is a strong motivator for military and
procurement personnel to want to meet with NATO
item suppliers, and was the foundation that ASDA was
built on. The Adriatic Sea and South Eastern European Region is one of the major regions for expansion
for both NATO and the European Union. The target
countries for this event were Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Montenegro, Slovenia, Kosovo, Serbia, Albania
and Macedonia.
The Opening Ceremony remarks given by Justin
Webb, President of TNT Productions, Inc. (ASDA promoter), introduced the NATO/EU concept to the participants, and laid the groundwork for the show. Mr.
Webb’s group had provided individual country delegate
boxes on an upper floor for meetings and preparation,
and the delegates from surrounding countries were
evident on the showroom floor. Croatian Prime Minister Mrs. Jadranka Kosor then addressed the attendees,
and Croatian President (and Supreme Commander of
the Croatian Armed Forces) Mr. Ivo Josipović made an
official visit to the show.
This was a tri-service show, with land, air and sea
military needs being represented as well as homeland
security issues. The local small arms production was
well-developed and exhibited in a professional manner,
and those companies with international vision that recognized the coming opportunities in Croatia are sure to
benefit from having been “Plankholders” at ASDA.
Generally speaking, TNT hit a home run with this
first time show, and most exhibitors we spoke with
planned on attending the 2013 edition of ASDA.
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HS PRODUKT
HS Produkt is a well-known firearms manufacturer in Croatia, with their
semiautomatic HS2000 pistols currently being marketed in the U.S. as the
Springfield Armory XD model. The VHS Bullpup designed 5.56x45mm
rifle is drawing a lot of attention as well. www.hs-produkt.hr
Jurana Topić with HS Produkt HS-9 Sub-Compact 9x19mm.
HS Produkt from Croatia had a very busy booth, with a lot of professional interest in the XD pistols.
HS Produkt VHS-D 5.56x45mm
bullpup rifle. The VHS-D is
30.9 inches (785mm) long with
a barrel length of 19.68 inches
(500mm) and 6 groove rifling
in a 1:7 inch twist. The claimed
750 rounds per minute from
this gas-operated system is
consistent with most requirements today, and the VHS uses
a rotating bolt locking system.
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ASDA 2011
ARMALITE
SADJ Contributing Writer Chris Bartocci works for Otis, and here he demonstrates the proper method of cleaning ArmaLite’s M4 variant. www.otistec.com
ARMALITE
Mark Westrom, President of ArmaLite, Inc., with the AR-10 Super SASS
rifle. ArmaLite was in Croatia pursuing local interest in the 7.62x51mm
semiautomatic Super SASS rifle, the AR-30 in .338 Lapua Magnum, and
the 12.7x99 (.50 BMG) AR-50A1 bolt action sniper rifle. ArmaLite has
now moved into many markets outside of the USA. www.armalite.com
ROMARM
Romarm is the state company representing much of the defense industry in Romania, and they were there to give support to the new show as well as explore the
market in the region. www.romarm.ro
KONGSBERG
Kongsberg showcased their PROTECTOR Remote Weapon Station (RWS). This remotely controlled weapon station is for light and medium calibre weapons and can
be mounted on any type of platform. The unit shown was adopted by the U.S. Army
in 2007 as the CROWS II, and is utilizing the M2HB 12.7x99 (.50 BMG) machine
gun. PROTECTOR has been in full scale production since December 2001. Since
then more than 15,000 systems have been sold to 17 nations. www.kongsberg.com
RAFAEL
Israeli company Rafael featured their Samson RCWS-30, a
remote controlled weapon station with 30mm cannon. The
RCWS-30 keeps a low profile package that is non-intrusive
into the host vehicle, and provides a -20° to +60° elevation
and 360° rotation. www.rafael.co.il
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AREX
Slovenian company AREX d.o.o. Sentjernej is a manufacturer of metal
links for 5.56x45 (M27), 7.62x51mm (M13) and 12.7x99mm (.50 BMG
M9). They’ve expanded into plastic versions of those links as well as
supplying a variety of plastic blank ammo and drill rounds. www.arex.si
CROATIAN POLICE
The Croatian Police forces displayed their modern HK tactical weapons. Left to
right: HK G36 C in 5.56x45mm; HK UMP-9 in 9x19mm; HK MP5A4 in 9x19mm
with B&T suppressor; HK MP7A1 in 4.6x30mm with B&T suppressor.
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ASDA 2011
PRISM LIGHTING
AGENCIJA ALAN
Agencija Alan d.o.o. is the official company that
represents the Croatian Defense industry for
sales. They cover everything from tanks to helmets, and footgear, training equipment as well as
weapons. www.aalan.hr
KROKO
Kroko International d.o.o. kept the party running throughout the ASDA
show. With over 150 of their internally designed products in use by
Croatian Military forces, and sales in many other countries, Kroko was
celebrating their successful year. It was nice to see the high spirits as
well as high quality products. www.kroko.hr
Prism Lighting Services LLC was showing their PIL1000
inflatable light. This lightweight portable unit can either
work on supplied electricity or with a small Honda generator on-board. The fan in the unit inflates the tube to
4.5 meters (15 feet) with a 1,000 watt Metal Halide lamp
at the top. This is perfect for emergency use or what we
saw it for was night time range illumination. At the height
the lamp is at, it illuminates approximately 12,000 square
yards. www.prismlighting.net
The single shot bolt action MACS-3 Bullpup
sniper rifle is in 12.7x99mm (.50 BMG). It
is shown here with a Kahles ZF4 10x42 optic. Weight of rifle as shown is 8.8kg, with an
overall length of 43.7 inches (1,110mm), and a
barrel length of 29.9 inches (760mm).
The RBG-6 is a six shot, rotary drum
40x46mm shoulder fired grenade launcher.
It uses low velocity 40mm and a springdriven, gas-operated cylinder. The Croatian
manufacturer of grenades is offering a variety
of live HE and training rounds. The Croatian
40x46mm grenades have arming distances of
12-18 meters. www.metallic.hr
PPQ
PPQ
The single shot bolt action RT-20 AntiMaterial sniper rifle is shown here with the
K312 3-12x50 optic. This 17kg rifle fires the
20x110mm Hispano cartridge, allowing for
the use of HE, HEI, and API ammunition.
With a range of almost 2,000 meters, this
recoilless assisted rifle can really intercept
targets with serious damage, while allowing
for shoulder firing. The offset shoulder placement puts the operator forward of the recoilless venting, which combined with the welldesigned muzzle brake, mitigates the recoil.
Ideal for special units.
Original WALTHER quality, perfect ergonomics and the newly developed
Quick Defense trigger system: The WALTHER PPQ meets all the demands
placed on a modern police pistol. The trigger has a very short reset path
in keeping with the requirements of many special units.
The new bolt action, magazine-fed MACS4 sniper rifle is in 12.7x99 (.50 BMG) and is
shown with a Kahles K312 optic. No other information was available on this new rifle.
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Best Performance www.carl-walther.com
Short trigger travel = 7 mm
Quick firing
Slight trigger pull = 2500 g
High capacity = 15/17 rounds
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