Expodefensa 2014: Bogota, Colombia

Expodefensa in Bogota, Colombia is a bi-annual show that has strong regional attendance. It is heavily attended by the Colombian military groups, and their buyers and decision makers are evident, from discussions SADJ had with the vendors. Many other military officers from South American countries were in attendance, from Argentineans to Venezuelans. We found this to be a very successful show. There were tens of thousands of attendees, but we did not get the full report in time for publication.

Expodefensa will be held again in 2015, then 2017 because COGES took over this show and wants to get the show into a 2-year cycle opposite their flagship Eurosatory show in Paris which is scheduled for June of 2016.

Statement from Show management:

The Ministry of National Defense of Colombia, the High-Tech Corporation and the International Business and Exhibition Center of Bogota – CORFERIAS present version IV of Expodefensa, an exhibition of specialized nature and point of reference for the Andean Region, Central America and the Caribbean in terms of technological development an innovation for defense and security.

Expodefensa 2014 will be a showcase of the most innovative developments of the industry, where you will be able to exhibit the best of your company, position your brand, make business contacts, present innovations and promote your products, equipment and services to Government representatives and executives of the Colombian defense sector, official delegates from the region and national and international visitors.

Colombia became a military and security reference in the region thanks to its acquisition programs, the modernization of its Public Force, the notable operational capacity of its troops and its developments in defense and security technology.

Equipment efficiency – constantly tested in battle and the development of the constitutional mission – has made Colombian public force in a letter of introduction for supplier companies in other countries.

Tecnico 3 Molina from the Colombian Air Force examines SG Chung’s Galil top rail. SG saw a problem with the Galil charging system and manufactured an offset rail to deal with it. Since Colombia uses a Galil variant, this was an excellent place for SG’s company, IT&T, to market the product. SG also presented the lightweight 60mm mortar, and several targeting and optic systems. www.Inter2t.com.

Some information not shown in the photos:

In discussions with Arsenal of Bulgaria, Hristo Ibouchev told SADJ that over 10 years ago, they had solidified the AK top cover for rail use and it was a very reliable design. Now most customers are discussing this, so Arsenal had these
ready for presentation.

IMS- The Institute for Metal Science in Bulgaria- has their Anti- Helicopter mine system in production. It has a 150-meter vertical range, uses a sensor to trigger, and the square mine has 600+ pieces of fragmented steel in 1×1 cm chunks, and guarantees 3-5 frags per square meter at the 150 meter range. The round AH mine has 450-500 frag chunks same range.

IMS’s Anti-UAV (Drone) mine has a 500 meter vertical range, similar fragmentation quantity but size is different.

IWI’s bullpup Tavor series of rifles has been integrated into the Israeli Defense Forces now, and is offered worldwide. The Tavor (black) is the mainstay, but the 9x19mm X95 with integral suppressor is an impressive and popular submachine gun.

Thor manufacturing from Antioquia, Colombia, presented a very lightweight buffered mount for the Barrett M107A1 series rifles. Thor manufactures a buffered twin mount for M2HB .50 calibers, and many other defense items. There was an M60 bolt and an M134 Minigun gear at Colombian company, Global Rotor, items made by or through Thor. www.thorint.com.

U.S. international contractor Goldbelt Wolf had a large booth with their Colombian representatives. SADJ met with Northstar regarding their upgraded helicopters, on the Bell 407 frame. Remington Defense and ATK/Eagle were some of the other U.S. participants with Goldbelt Wolf.

Israel’s Negev 5.56x45mm belt fed light machine gun has been a reliable seller for them, and with the new NG7 variant in 7.62x51mm, a new path is opened for IWI sales in the real SAW market.

ACE 21: The shortest version of the Ace has a 215 mm (8.46 inches) barrel with an overall length of 730 mm (28.74 inches) with the stock extended. Rate of fire for all models is 700 rpm.

ACE 22: The carbine version of the Ace has a 332 mm (13.07 inch) barrel with an overall length of 847 mm (33.35 inches) with the stock extended.

ACE 23: The carbine version of the Ace has a 460 mm (18.11 inch) barrel with an overall length of 975 mm (37.39 inches) with the stock extended.

The Galil Model AR has been the standby rifle of the Colombian military for years, shown here with the side-folding stock and 40x46mm underbarrel grenade launcher Indumil manufactures. The AR is also made by Indumil.

Colombian Army soldiers examine US Ordnance’s M2A2 Quick Change Barrel .50 caliber machine gun (12.7x99mm). The M2A2 is closed bolt firing with fixed headspace and eliminates the field headspacing necessary on the venerable M2HB. One of the flagship products from US Ord’s machine gun production line, it has endured hundreds of thousands of rounds in military trial testing, and SADJ will be presenting an upcoming Mil-Spec Test. SG Chung’s truly fast sight acquisition UMS (Universal Machinegun Sight) is mounted as well. www.USOrd.com.