- In a bid to reduce its dependence on Russian arms, some Vietnam government officials and U.S. defense firms are reportedly discussing the supply of military gear.
- The talks are preliminary and may not lead to any deals.
- Lockheed Martin Corp (NYSE:LMT), Boeing Co (NYSE:BA), Raytheon Technologies Corp (NYSE:RTX), Textron Inc (NYSE:TXT), and IM Systems Group met with the officials on the sidelines of Vietnam’s arms fair.
- The companies offered a range of military gear and had “promising” discussions about non-lethal equipment, including helicopters for internal security, drones, radars, and other systems.
- “This marks the beginning of a more open-minded Vietnam People’s Army to U.S. weapons and a willingness to engage deeper with the U.S. in defense as a whole,” said Nguyen The Phuong, a military expert, and researcher at the University of New South Wales.
- Military deals with the U.S. face many potential hurdles, including concerns about the impact on Hanoi’s tense relations with China and whether U.S.-made systems can be integrated with Vietnam’s legacy weapons, Reuters noted, citing some analysts.
- A second person familiar with the matter told Reuters that talks on drones and helicopters began before the arms fair and have involved more weapons.
- Both sources said Lockheed Martin separately had discussions with Vietnam about a new communication and defense satellite, replacing one of the two from the U.S. company Hanoi already operates.
- Photo by alyoshine from Pixabay
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This story was first published on the Benzinga India portal.
