Abu Dhabi drone fair offers rare look at Belarusian weapons

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — An unusual sight at the UMEX drone fair organized here from Jan. 23-25 was the large booth of the Republic of Belarus.

The autocratic regime is not in the habit of attending Western trade shows, having been sanctioned by many Western nations and blocs, including the European Union, for its role in Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.

But here, while unlisted in the event’s official lineup exhibitors, a handful of Belarusian companies attended the show, showing more equipment than Russian manufacturers.

Among them was the Minsk-based, state-owned firm Belspetsvneshtechnika (BSVT), displaying the latest variant of its Sapphire grenade launching system.

Mounted on a tracked chassis the size of a shopping cart – the U.S. big-box store kind – a mock-up shown here appeared to be armed with 12 anti-tank rockets.

A company representative, who wished not to be named, told Defense News that the company began testing the system in Belarus in November. The plan is to have it serially produced by the end of 2024, after which it is expected to enter into the service of the Belarusian military.

When asked whether the company had plans to eventually supply it to Russia, the representative said that this was not being considered.

The Sapphire is available in anti-personnel, anti-tank, and multi-strike, cluster-attack configurations, among others. At the show, BSVT was marketing the weapon as a “game-changer in the modern battlefield” as well as effective for urban warfare.

The carrier vehicle is remote-controlled, and it is programmed to return to the operator autonomously if the connection is lost, according to the manufacturer.

The development of the new launcher was said to have started approximately two years ago, although it is unclear whether the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 prompted or affected its evolution.

The Sapphire was last shown at the International Exhibition of Arms and Military Machinery dubbed MILEX organized in Minsk last May, where delegates from Russia, China and Iran showed an interest, according to the vendor representative.

Belarus has backed Russia in its war against Ukraine. According to Ukrainian analysts, Moscow has used Belarusian airspace for drone and missile attacks against Kyiv and other cities.

In October 2022, the country’s president, Aleksandr Lukashenko, announced the deployment of Russian troops alongside military equipment to Belarus in response to what he called NATO provocations on the border.

Earlier this month, the defense minister of Belarus said the government would formalize new military doctrine for the use of nuclear weapons .

Elisabeth Gosselin-Malo was a Europe correspondent for Defense News. She covers a wide range of topics related to military procurement and international security, and specializes in reporting on the aviation sector. She is based in Milan, Italy.

阿联酋阿布扎比——1月23日至25日在此举办的UMEX无人机展上，白俄罗斯共和国的大型展位格外引人注目。

由于在俄罗斯侵略乌克兰一事中扮演的角色，该独裁政权受到了包括欧盟在内的许多西方国家和集团的制裁，因此它没有参加西方贸易展览会的习惯。

但是，尽管没有列入活动的官方参展商名单，但仍有一些白俄罗斯公司参加了此次展会，展出的设备比俄罗斯制造商还要多。

其中包括总部位于明斯克的国有企业 Belspetsvneshtechnika (BSVT)，该公司展示了其最新型的 Sapphire 榴弹发射系统。

图中所示的模型安装在购物车大小的履带底盘上（类似于美国大型超市的购物车），似乎配备了 12 枚反坦克火箭。

一位不愿透露姓名的公司代表告诉《防务新闻》，该公司于去年11月开始在白俄罗斯测试该系统。计划在2024年底前实现系统批量生产，之后预计将列装白俄罗斯军队。

当被问及该公司是否有计划最终向俄罗斯供应该产品时，该代表表示，目前尚未考虑此事。

蓝宝石导弹有多种配置可选，包括反人员、反坦克以及多点打击和集束攻击等。在展会上，BSVT公司将该武器宣传为“现代战场上的颠覆性武器”，并称其在城市作战中也十分有效。

据制造商称，该运输车辆采用遥控设计，如果连接中断，它将自动返回操作员处。

据称，新型发射器的研发工作大约始于两年前，但目前尚不清楚 2022 年 2 月俄罗斯入侵乌克兰是否促使或影响了其发展。

据供应商代表称，蓝宝石导弹最后一次亮相是在去年五月于明斯克举办的国际武器和军事机械展览会（MILEX）上，当时来自俄罗斯、中国和伊朗的代表都表现出了兴趣。

白俄罗斯在对乌克兰的战争中支持俄罗斯。据乌克兰分析人士称，莫斯科曾利用白俄罗斯领空对基辅和其他城市发动无人机和导弹袭击。

2022 年 10 月，该国总统亚历山大·卢卡申科宣布向白俄罗斯部署俄罗斯军队和军事装备，以回应他所称的北约在边境的挑衅行为。

本月初，白俄罗斯国防部长表示，政府将正式制定使用核武器的新军事理论。

伊丽莎白·戈斯林-马洛曾任《防务新闻》欧洲通讯员。她的报道涵盖军事采购和国际安全等广泛领域，尤其擅长航空领域的报道。她常驻意大利米兰。