Moscow air show likely to be cancelled as sanctions on Russia affect participation and import of parts

Russia is likely to cancel this year’s Moscow air show, which for decades has been a major venue for showing off new warplanes and negotiating aerospace contracts, a top official of its organizing agency said Friday.

Viktor Kladov, director for international cooperation at the state-owned defense conglomerate Rostec, was quoted by the state news agency Tass as saying that the show “in all probability” won’t take place this year. It had been scheduled for the end of July.

Kladov did not state a reason for putting off the event, but Russian news media earlier suggested it was due to Western sanctions on Russia connected to the conflict in Ukraine that would shrink international participation and have affected parts supplies to manufacturers.

Those reports also cited unnamed sources as saying there are security worries in the wake of drone attacks that hit the Kremlin and the outskirts of Moscow in May.

International attendance at Russia’s annual investment showcase, the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, was notably lower than it had been prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.