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.