29-31 MARCH, 2011 | SPLIT, CROATIA First time trade shows are a bit uncertain for attendees and exhibitors alike. It’s difficult to determine which start-up shows have a good chance of putting the products in front of the decision makers, before making the financial and time commitment to attend. Location, time of year, competing shows, all enter into these decisions. What help’s make the decision is who the promoter of the show is and how their other shows perform. In the case of ASDA, TNT Produc- ASDA2011 tions, Inc. has many other successful shows and two more military shows in the region: BSDA in Bucharest, and GDA ASIATIC SEA DEFENSE & AEROSPACE in Kuwait. We expected a good show, and TNT certainly made ASDA worth going to. Those who took the time to at- tend are, in the words of one exhibitor, “Plankholders” for future shows. by DAN SHEA 120 SADEFENSEJOURNAL.COM SADEFENSEJOURNAL.COM 121 ASDA 2011 he City of Split, Croatia, was an excellent choice for a show in the region. The April weather is wonderful, the sights are breath- taking, the people are hospitable and the accommodations and expenses are very Treasonable. Split is located on the Dalmatian Coast of the Adriatic Sea, and the Croatian heritage is influ- enced heavily by millennia of interaction with Italy, just across the Sea. Split is also centrally located to many of the regional military groups, making it readily accessible and providing a good flow of attendees. The Spaladium Arena is under construction at present, but it provided a nice venue in the working show area and was easy enough to access. Croatia is expected to enter into the European Union in 2011, becoming the 28th official member of the EU. They are planning to change currency from the Kuna to the Euro in about 2016. On 1 April, 2009, Croatia became an official member of NATO. This has entailed many changes, but the armed forces of Croatia must meet NATO standards, and Croatia has earmarked approximately $4 Billion (U.S. Equiva- lent) for this process. The official notice says it all: “The Croatian Armed Forces Long-Term Develop- ment Plan 2006-2015, which has been approved by the government, details the acquisitions required to substantially modernize the Armed Forces. The mod- ernization plans include ongoing and future expected HS PRODUKT procurements in all 3 major defense sectors: air, land and navy.” This is a strong motivator for military and HS Produkt is a well-known firearms manufacturer in Croatia, with their procurement personnel to want to meet with NATO semiautomatic HS2000 pistols currently being marketed in the U.S. as the item suppliers, and was the foundation that ASDA was Springfield Armory XD model. The VHS Bullpup designed 5.56x45mm built on. The Adriatic Sea and South Eastern Euro- rifle is drawing a lot of attention as well. www.hs-produkt.hr pean Region is one of the major regions for expansion for both NATO and the European Union. The target Jurana Topić with HS Produkt HS-9 Sub-Compact 9x19mm. countries for this event were Croatia, Bosnia & Herze- govina, Montenegro, Slovenia, Kosovo, Serbia, Albania HS Produkt from Croatia had a very busy booth, with a lot of profes- and Macedonia. sional interest in the XD pistols. The Opening Ceremony remarks given by Justin Webb, President of TNT Productions, Inc. (ASDA pro- moter), introduced the NATO/EU concept to the par- ticipants, and laid the groundwork for the show. Mr. Webb’s group had provided individual country delegate boxes on an upper floor for meetings and preparation, and the delegates from surrounding countries were evident on the showroom floor. Croatian Prime Minis- ter Mrs. Jadranka Kosor then addressed the attendees, and Croatian President (and Supreme Commander of the Croatian Armed Forces) Mr. Ivo Josipović made an official visit to the show. HS Produkt VHS-D 5.56x45mm This was a tri-service show, with land, air and sea bullpup rifle. The VHS-D is military needs being represented as well as homeland 30.9 inches (785mm) long with security issues. The local small arms production was a barrel length of 19.68 inches well-developed and exhibited in a professional manner, (500mm) and 6 groove rifling and those companies with international vision that rec- in a 1:7 inch twist. The claimed ognized the coming opportunities in Croatia are sure to 750 rounds per minute from benefit from having been “Plankholders” at ASDA. this gas-operated system is Generally speaking, TNT hit a home run with this consistent with most require- first time show, and most exhibitors we spoke with ments today, and the VHS uses planned on attending the 2013 edition of ASDA. a rotating bolt locking system. 122 SADEFENSEJOURNAL.COM SADEFENSEJOURNAL.COM 123 ASDA 2011 ARMALITE SADJ Contributing Writer Chris Bartocci works for Otis, and here he demon- strates the proper method of cleaning ArmaLite’s M4 variant. www.otistec.com ARMALITE Mark Westrom, President of ArmaLite, Inc., with the AR-10 Super SASS rifle. ArmaLite was in Croatia pursuing local interest in the 7.62x51mm ROMARM semiautomatic Super SASS rifle, the AR-30 in .338 Lapua Magnum, and Romarm is the state company representing much of the defense industry in Ro- the 12.7x99 (.50 BMG) AR-50A1 bolt action sniper rifle. ArmaLite has mania, and they were there to give support to the new show as well as explore the now moved into many markets outside of the USA. www.armalite.com market in the region. www.romarm.ro KONGSBERG Kongsberg showcased their PROTECTOR Remote Weapon Station (RWS). This re- motely controlled weapon station is for light and medium calibre weapons and can be mounted on any type of platform. The unit shown was adopted by the U.S. Army in 2007 as the CROWS II, and is utilizing the M2HB 12.7x99 (.50 BMG) machine gun. PROTECTOR has been in full scale production since December 2001. Since then more than 15,000 systems have been sold to 17 nations. www.kongsberg.com RAFAEL Israeli company Rafael featured their Samson RCWS-30, a AREX remote controlled weapon station with 30mm cannon. The Slovenian company AREX d.o.o. Sentjernej is a manufacturer of metal CROATIAN POLICE RCWS-30 keeps a low profile package that is non-intrusive links for 5.56x45 (M27), 7.62x51mm (M13) and 12.7x99mm (.50 BMG The Croatian Police forces displayed their modern HK tactical weapons. Left to into the host vehicle, and provides a -20° to +60° elevation M9). They’ve expanded into plastic versions of those links as well as right: HK G36 C in 5.56x45mm; HK UMP-9 in 9x19mm; HK MP5A4 in 9x19mm and 360° rotation. www.rafael.co.il supplying a variety of plastic blank ammo and drill rounds. www.arex.si with B&T suppressor; HK MP7A1 in 4.6x30mm with B&T suppressor. 124 SADEFENSEJOURNAL.COM SADEFENSEJOURNAL.COM 125 ASDA 2011 PRISM LIGHTING Prism Lighting Services LLC was showing their PIL1000 inflatable light. This lightweight portable unit can either work on supplied electricity or with a small Honda gen- AGENCIJA ALAN KROKO erator on-board. The fan in the unit inflates the tube to Agencija Alan d.o.o. is the official company that Kroko International d.o.o. kept the party running throughout the ASDA 4.5 meters (15 feet) with a 1,000 watt Metal Halide lamp represents the Croatian Defense industry for show. With over 150 of their internally designed products in use by at the top. This is perfect for emergency use or what we sales. They cover everything from tanks to hel- Croatian Military forces, and sales in many other countries, Kroko was saw it for was night time range illumination. At the height mets, and footgear, training equipment as well as celebrating their successful year. It was nice to see the high spirits as the lamp is at, it illuminates approximately 12,000 square weapons. www.aalan.hr well as high quality products. www.kroko.hr yards. www.prismlighting.net The single shot bolt action MACS-3 Bullpup sniper rifle is in 12.7x99mm (.50 BMG). It is shown here with a Kahles ZF4 10x42 op- tic. Weight of rifle as shown is 8.8kg, with an overall length of 43.7 inches (1,110mm), and a barrel length of 29.9 inches (760mm). The RBG-6 is a six shot, rotary drum 40x46mm shoulder fired grenade launcher. It uses low velocity 40mm and a spring- driven, gas-operated cylinder. The Croatian manufacturer of grenades is offering a variety of live HE and training rounds. The Croatian 40x46mm grenades have arming distances of 12-18 meters. www.metallic.hr The single shot bolt action RT-20 Anti- Material sniper rifle is shown here with the K312 3-12x50 optic. This 17kg rifle fires the 20x110mm Hispano cartridge, allowing for the use of HE, HEI, and API ammunition. With a range of almost 2,000 meters, this recoilless assisted rifle can really intercept PPQ targets with serious damage, while allowing PPQ for shoulder firing. The offset shoulder place- ment puts the operator forward of the recoil- Ideal for special units. less venting, which combined with the well- designed muzzle brake, mitigates the recoil. Original WALTHER quality, perfect ergonomics and the newly developed Quick Defense trigger system: The WALTHER PPQ meets all the demands The new bolt action, magazine-fed MACS- placed on a modern police pistol. The trigger has a very short reset path 4 sniper rifle is in 12.7x99 (.50 BMG) and is in keeping with the requirements of many special units.