A US Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt strike aircraft and a C-130 Super Hercules transport aircraft were deployed on the runway of Gia Lam Military Airport in Hanoi during the event.
Major US arms makers, including Boeing and Lockheed Martin, as well as Europe's Airbus and Chinese firms, showcased their wares at an arms fair in Hanoi, while Vietnam is seeking to diversify its supply of defence products from Russia.
A US Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt attack aircraft and a C-130 Super Hercules transport plane were deployed on the runway of Hanoi's Gia Lam military airport during the event.
Thousands of people attended the event, including hundreds of uniformed Vietnamese soldiers, some of whom posed for selfies with US servicemen ahead of the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War, which will be commemorated next year.
The defence expo was the first time Chinese firms, including the big state defence conglomerate Norinco or China North Industries Corporation, attended.
For decades, Vietnamese governments have been heavily dependent on weapons supplied by Russia.
According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), the country accounted for over 80% of Vietnam's arms imports between 1995 and 2023.
But imports from Russia have declined in recent years amid international sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine.
"The war in Ukraine revealed the vulnerability of relying too heavily on Russian weapons," says Nguyen Khak Jang, a visiting fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore.
"Diversification is not just a necessity, it is an opportunity for Vietnam to move to more advanced systems while reducing its reliance on a single partner," Giang said.
"The expo is Vietnam's way of signalling that it is open to new partnerships."
Boeing and Lockheed Martin were among the 14 U.S. companies at the expo, with two participants from China and others from Germany, Iran, Israel and Ukraine, as well as Russia.
In addition to aircraft, they exhibited tanks, missiles, drones, firearms and radar systems, including from several Vietnamese firms.
At the opening ceremony, Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Trinh described the exhibition as "a message of peace, cooperation and common development." | BGNES
