Western defense companies size up Vietnam’s military market

HANOI, Vietnam — Vietnam has traditionally been a loyal client of Soviet and Russian military equipment, but Western companies are looking at the Southeast Asian nation as a market with significant potential.

Their interest was evident at the Vietnam International Defense Expo – VIDEX 2024 for short – held here in late December.

American prime contractors such as Boeing, L3Harris, Lockheed Martin and Textron were in Hanoi for the second edition of this biennial exposition, as well as European conglomerates like Airbus, BAE Systems, Leonardo, Rheinmetall and Thales.

Also remarkable at VIDEX 2024 was the presence of kit belonging to the U.S. military, while Adm. Samuel J. Paparo, head of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, was in attendance as well.

The U.S. Army displayed a Stryker 8x8 armored vehicle and M777A2 towed howitzer, whereas the U.S. Air Force dispatched two A-10C Thunderbolt II aircraft from a South Korean base, and a C-130J Super Hercules from Japan.

The government of Vietnam has shown interest in the Hercules to plug gaping holes in its air transportation capability. A Lockheed Martin spokesperson told Defense News that the company was highlighting the “C-130J’s tactical-by-design” capabilities at VIDEX 2024.

The spokesperson added, “Lockheed Martin stands ready to support Vietnam and other U.S. partners and allies across the Indo-Pacific region in meeting their current and future mission requirements across all domains.”

A Vietnamese deal for C-130Js is not unrealistic, as Vietnam has already procured a dozen T-6C Texan II trainer aircraft from American firm Textron. Five T-6Cs were delivered last November, and the remainder will follow this year.

Washington annulled a weapon sales ban to the Southeast Asian country in 2016, and a comprehensive strategic partnership signed during President Joe Biden’s visit to Vietnam in 2023 is paving the way for even more deals.

Marc Knapper, U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam, said at the show: “Our goal is to ensure that Vietnam has what it needs to defend its interests at sea, in the air, on the ground and in cyberspace.”

Knapper continued, “This is why we came out in force in a truly historic, unprecedented participation by the United States government and private sector in this event, and it reflects our commitment to Vietnam and to Vietnam’s aspirations.”

Boeing executive Dale McDowall told Defense News that his company’s presence at VIDEX 2024 was all about building relations with Vietnam.

McDowall said Boeing understands that maritime security is critical to Vietnam, a country bordering the South China Sea. Boeing was thus promoting its Wave Glider unmanned surface vessel and ScanEagle drones.

The United States, under its Maritime Security Initiative, supplied six ScanEagle systems to the Vietnam Coast Guard in 2022.

Also, because many parts of Vietnam are inaccessible and lack airstrips, McDowall said transport helicopters like the CH-47F Chinook “have huge potential” there.

Elsewhere, Natasha Pheiffer, BAE Systems’ managing director for Asia, said, “Vietnam is a new market for us.” She added, “We really are just exploring at the moment. There are no hard and fast opportunities for us per se,” though the company was supporting the U.S. government’s promotion of the M777 howitzer.

Working with Vietnam presents challenges too. “There isn’t a fixed procurement program, necessarily, which does make it a little more difficult to understand what it is they’re looking for,” Pheiffer noted.

Unsurprisingly, Russia had a very visible presence at VIDEX 2024, with large exhibition booths and several vehicles on display, including a BMP-3 infantry fighting vehicle and Rubezh coastal missile system.

Also out in force showing their wares at Vietnam’s blue-ribbon defense show were the Czech Republic, India, Iran, Israel, Japan, South Korea, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates. Such a diverse list is an indication of Vietnam’s efforts to diplomatically balance relations with competing powers.

However, both Russian and Western suppliers must also contend with up-and-coming defense companies from Vietnam itself. Viettel, owned by the Ministry of National Defense, is Vietnam’s largest defense company.

Viettel was the most prominent exhibitor at VIDEX 2024, and it is now moving into the production of kinetic weapons. An example is the VCS-01 Truong Son coastal defense missile system now operational in the Vietnamese Navy. The VCS-01 system fires the VSM-01A missile possessing a 50-mile (80km) range.

Gordon Arthur is an Asia correspondent for Defense News. After a 20-year stint working in Hong Kong, he now resides in New Zealand. He has attended military exercises and defense exhibitions in about 20 countries around the Asia-Pacific region.

越南河内——越南历来是苏联和俄罗斯军事装备的忠实客户，但西方公司正将这个东南亚国家视为一个具有巨大潜力的市场。

在 12 月下旬于此地举行的越南国际防务博览会（简称 VIDEX 2024）上，他们的兴趣显而易见。

美国主要承包商如波音、L3Harris、洛克希德·马丁和德事隆都参加了在河内举行的第二届两年一度的博览会，欧洲企业集团如空客、BAE系统公司、莱昂纳多、莱茵金属和泰雷兹也参加了此次博览会。

VIDEX 2024 的另一个引人注目之处在于美国军方展出了相关设备，美国印太司令部司令塞缪尔·J·帕帕罗海军上将也出席了展会。

美国陆军展示了一辆 Stryker 8x8 装甲车和一门 M777A2 牵引式榴弹炮，而美国空军则从韩国基地派出了两架 A-10C 雷电 II 攻击机，并从日本派出了一架 C-130J 超级大力神运输机。

越南政府对大力神运输机表现出浓厚的兴趣，希望借此弥补其空中运输能力的巨大缺口。洛克希德·马丁公司的一位发言人告诉《防务新闻》，该公司将在2024年VIDEX防务展上重点展示C-130J“战术设计”的能力。

发言人补充道：“洛克希德·马丁公司随时准备支持越南以及美国在印太地区的其他伙伴和盟友，满足他们在所有领域的当前和未来任务需求。”

越南购买C-130J运输机并非不切实际，因为越南已经从美国德事隆公司采购了12架T-6C“德克萨斯人II”教练机。其中5架已于去年11月交付，其余的将于今年交付。

2016 年，华盛顿取消了对这个东南亚国家的武器销售禁令。2023 年，乔·拜登总统访问越南期间签署了一项全面的战略伙伴关系协议，为达成更多交易铺平了道路。

美国驻越南大使马克·纳珀在展会上表示：“我们的目标是确保越南拥有捍卫其在海上、空中、陆地和网络空间利益所需的一切。”

克纳珀继续说道：“这就是为什么我们以美国政府和私营部门前所未有的规模全力参与此次盛会的原因，这体现了我们对越南和越南愿望的承诺。”

波音公司高管戴尔·麦克道尔告诉《防务新闻》，该公司参加 2024 年 VIDEX 防务展的全部目的就是为了与越南建立关系。

麦克道尔表示，波音公司深知海上安全对越南至关重要，因为越南与南海接壤。因此，波音公司正在推广其“波浪滑翔者”（Wave Glider）无人水面舰艇和“扫描鹰”（ScanEagle）无人机。

2022年，美国根据其海上安全倡议，向越南海岸警卫队提供了六套ScanEagle系统。

此外，由于越南许多地区交通不便且缺乏简易机场，麦克道尔表示，像 CH-47F 支奴干这样的运输直升机在那里“具有巨大的潜力”。

另一方面，英国航空航天系统公司（BAE Systems）亚洲区总经理娜塔莎·菲弗表示：“越南对我们来说是一个新市场。”她补充道：“我们目前还只是在探索阶段。对我们来说，还没有确凿的机遇。”尽管该公司正在支持美国政府推广M777榴弹炮。

与越南合作也面临挑战。“越南并没有固定的采购流程，这使得我们更难了解他们的需求，”菲弗指出。

不出所料，俄罗斯在 2024 年 VIDEX 展会上非常引人注目，设有大型展位并展出了多辆车辆，包括 BMP-3 步兵战车和“鲁别日”岸基导弹系统。

捷克、印度、伊朗、以色列、日本、韩国、土耳其和阿联酋也纷纷派出强大代表团参加越南举办的这场世界顶级防务展。如此多元化的参展国名单表明，越南正努力在外交上平衡与各大强国的关系。

然而，俄罗斯和西方供应商还必须应对越南本土新兴国防企业的竞争。越南国防部旗下的Viettel是越南最大的国防企业。

Viettel是2024年VIDEX防务展上最引人注目的参展商，目前正进军动能武器生产领域。例如，越南海军现已装备的VCS-01“长山”岸基防御导弹系统。VCS-01系统发射射程达80公里（50英里）的VSM-01A导弹。

戈登·阿瑟是《防务新闻》的亚洲特派记者。在香港工作20年后，他现居新西兰。他曾到访亚太地区约20个国家，参加过军事演习和防务展览。