ZHUKOVSKY (Russia), Aug 21: President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday pushed Russia’s military aviation industry as a global leader, just days after announcing the resumption of Cold War-era strategic bomber flights.

“Russia has the task of retaining its leadership in fighting, military technology,” Putin said at the opening of the Maks 2007 airshow in the town of Zhukovsky, a major test flight centre just southeast of the Russian capital.

“Russia has new economic potential and will in the future continue to pay particular attention to developing these technologies,” Putin said, adding that the pilots taking part in the airshow were “the best in the world.”

Maks 2007 is a “celebration of aviation in our country” that will also serve as a useful platform for signing export contracts for supplying foreign countries, he continued.

Flanked by the head of Russia’s air force, government ministers and foreign guests including Ukrainian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, Putin then viewed a display of aircraft built by jetmakers Sukhoi, MiG and Tupolev.

The head of Russia’s state arms export monopoly Rosoboronexport, Sergei Chemezov, later told reporters that Russia had a “strong second place” in the military aviation market after the United States.

The Maks 2007 airshow followed Putin’s announcement last week that Russia would resume its Soviet-era practice of sending strategic bombers on long-range flights well beyond its borders.

The strategic bombers were not on display at Maks 2007, but four new military jets — the MiG-35, MiG-29K, Su-35 and Su-32 — were to be showcased at the event, which had 787 exhibitors from 39 countries, officials said.

Rosoboronexport said that it had already signed contracts worth $2.5 billion this year for military aircraft and that it was supplying the air forces of China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Venezuela.—AFP