Belarusian military-industrial complex’s ambitions rest on the lack of funds

Milex-2019, a recent international armament and military equipment exhibition was a resounding success for the Belarusian State Military Committee, however, it had unmasked some factors hindering the development of the Belarusian defence industry.

At the Milex-2019, some 170 manufacturers presented over 4000 products. The geographical representation had expanded, too: 59 official delegations from 35 countries of Europe, Asia and Africa visited the exhibition. Belarus’ Military-industrial complex officials held 377 meetings and negotiations with representatives of 52 states. Some 30 export contracts were concluded with a total worth some USD 200 million. Belarus marketed the “Milex-2019” as the largest arms exhibition in Eastern Europe.

Meanwhile, there were no official reports about the number and volume of contracts concluded in the interests of the Belarusian law enforcement agencies. A lion’s share of new Belarusian equipment presented at the Milex-2019 were initial designs existing only as exhibition samples (some – for many years) or mock-ups.

Among other post-Soviet states, Belarus allocates the smallest share of her DGP for the national security and defence sector. The financial situation in Belarusian security does not allow large-scale purchases. Accordingly, narrow domestic effective demand restrains the Belarusian military-industrial complex’s development, despite some ambitious and promising projects aiming at developing new military equipment and weapons, presented at the Milex-2019. This situation remained unchanged for many years.