Arms Dealers Go to Work in Paris

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In part, the intense security is intended to keep peace activistsfrom getting inside. The crowds of protesters tend to becomeraucous — they often try bombarding visitors with paintballs— and that requires an extensive police presence.
This year, the protest dwindled. Two elderly women in bird maskswalked about carrying small, politely worded anti-war signs —quite a departure from an event last year, when activists bought atank and attempted to drive it into the fair.
But if protesters were actually able to penetrate security to gaina glimpse inside the world of the “merchants of death,”they’d be severely disappointed. Military personnel walk thefloor in full regalia, but the scene is dominated by men in SavileRow suits with BlackBerries in hand; it looks like Wall Streetersweaving their way around tanks and RPGs.
The show was organized into country “villages,” with145 nations represented. The invitations extended to Libya, Algeriaand Serbia raised an eyebrow or two, but failed to stir up themedia controversy of years past, when China and Iran presented.
So what exactly is on offer at an arms fair?
GUNS AND TANKS
At Eurosatory you can play with everything from standard-issueGlocks to the latest and greatest guns on the market. Truvelo, aSouth African arms manufacturer, introduced a single-shot 20x110sniper rifle reputed to be a world first in this caliber —and some say it will set the benchmark for counter-sniping.
Belgian arms manufacturer FN Herstal officially launched theirSpecial Forces Combat Assault Rifle with NATO standard riflecalibers.
If bigger is better in your book, then Lockheed Martin’s THAAD ballistic missile defense system may be more your cup of tea.
And yes, there were other enormous boys’ toys to play with,including tanks. The Supacat HMT 4x4 Extenda cross country vehicle, with 50 already in service in Afghanistan,was unveiled for the first time outside of theater. The Swisscompany MOWAG showed off its Piranha V , which the U.K.’s Ministry of Defense has selected for aseries of upcoming contracts. Thales launched its Copperhead armored logistic support vehicle, and the largest manufacturer ofarmored vehicles in Turkey, Oktokar , brought two of the latest versions of its Cobra light vehicle.
But it wasn’t all tanks and machine guns: Attendees were alsowindow shopping for advances in stretchers, earmuffs, night-visiongoggles — even rapidly deploying camo toilets.
And while tools to recycle ammo and decontaminate equipment were ondisplay, cutting-edge AI robots stole the spotlight from otherbattlefield machines.
For those in the market for an off-the-shelf air squadron,Eurosatory was the right place to go. Armscor was keen to offload South Africa’s 21 surplus Cheetah C fighters , which have a maximum speed of Mach 2.2.
Even bridges were on offer at Eurosatory. Military requirements inAfghanistan have led to advances in tactical bridging capacity,which can be used to bridge wet and dry gaps and may be ideal fordisaster-relief operations.
Since buckling up is taken to a whole other level on the battlefield, competition was fierce to win over customers in the car seatarena. Improvements to overcome specific threats fromarmor-piercing sniper fire to IED blasts are critical to drivers,commanders and turret gunners.
Selling points included reducing the initial blast and slam-down aswell as ways to vent and deflect blast effects away from avehicle’s body.
BATTLE FASHION
Last year at London’s biennial arms fair, China’s repswere kicked out for displaying instruments of torture. Theirdefense? The rules allowed the display of “clothing,”and they argued that leg irons fell comfortably within the garmentcategory.
This year there was no such excitement — word on the streetwas everyone was playing cricket.
At the show, the latest generation of super-thin Kevlar proved verypopular, though the “automated garment selectionmachine” wasn’t quite the belle of the ball. TheItalians showed their sartorial flair, displaying the Arseniksunglasses they developed in consultation with the Marine Corps.
Avon Protection, which produces breathing apparatuses, generated alot of interest among military and police personnel with its newestrespiratory mask. The mask would allow Special Forces to handlerapidly changing chemical, biological, radiological and nuclearthreats without having to switch equipment.
So how does a purveyor of arms gain that market advantage in a seaof cutting-edge weaponry? Nearly nude women wearing little morethan paint always draw huge crowds to booths, but this year,potential buyers had to make due with Angelina Jolie look-alikes inLara Croft get-ups. Word on the arms floor was that Israel wheeledout the best eye candy this time round.
On Friday, the arms fair was opened up to the average punters,trainspotters and weapons enthusiasts. But if you didn’tmanage to hop across the pond for a sneak peak at the latest inweapons, check out the next column for what’s hot.
Allison Barrie, a security and terrorism consultant with theCommission for National Security in the 21st Century, is FOX News'security columnist.