Army Recognition Highlights Viettel’s R&D Capabilities
Recently, the military magazine Army Recognition published an analysis of the partnership between Viettel High Tech and John Cockerill Defense, highlighting it as a model of cross-border cooperation in the context of strengthening Vietnam–France relations.
The article emphasizes the complementary strengths of Viettel High Tech’s experience in electronic warfare, sensors, and systems integration with John Cockerill Defense’s capabilities in turret design, manufacturing, and global marketing networks.
Based on cooperation details disclosed in May 2025 at the French Embassy in Hanoi, Viettel High Tech (VHT) and John Cockerill Defense officially signed a Framework Partnership Agreement (FPA) to establish a long-term collaboration in developing, manufacturing, and commercializing advanced land-based defense systems, with a strong focus on export.
Commenting on the opportunity to expand into international markets, Mr. Thierry Renaudin, CEO of John Cockerill Defense, stated that in an increasingly volatile world, nations must ensure their ability to defend themselves—of which high-quality defense equipment is an essential component. This presents both an opportunity and a challenge, requiring Viettel High Tech and John Cockerill Defense to co-develop advanced technologies at competitive costs.
Army Recognition cites this point to demonstrate that Vietnamese enterprises are not merely component suppliers but are actively mastering the high-tech value chain. The article recognizes Viettel’s infrastructure, production capabilities, and export ambitions as aligned with John Cockerill Defense’s strategy of deploying modular weapon platforms.
Affirming Viettel’s Capability through Army Recognition’s Perspective
According to Army Recognition, Viettel has researched and developed over 60 products across 10 technological domains, including communication systems, radar, electronic warfare, and UAVs. The magazine dedicates significant space to listing these competencies, asserting that they reflect the military’s modernization efforts and Viettel’s potential for global commercialization. Viettel’s experience in electronic warfare, sensors, and systems integration is described as the missing piece that completes John Cockerill Defense’s next-generation armored vehicle solutions.
With a history spanning more than two decades, Army Recognition delivers military news, analysis, and a database of equipment to readers in over 150 countries. It is widely regarded by experts, manufacturers, and military agencies worldwide as a trusted reference source. The considerable attention given to the Viettel–John Cockerill partnership underscores growing international defense media interest in Vietnam’s industrial capabilities.
The magazine references Viettel’s capabilities three times—from radar and UAVs to electronic warfare—concluding that this partnership reflects a broader trend of international collaboration aimed at enhancing competitiveness, promoting technology transfer, and strengthening bilateral industrial foundations. This assessment indirectly affirms Viettel’s position within the global defense value chain. The magazine explicitly uses terms like “experience” and “technology ownership” when describing Viettel, placing the Vietnamese firm on par with its European counterpart in R&D capability.
The Viettel–John Cockerill agreement reflects a growing trend among multinational defense companies to collaborate in order to boost competitiveness and shorten supply chains. In the long term, such partnerships are expected to yield co-developed systems tailored to the evolving operational needs of armed forces across diverse environments.
In summary, through Army Recognition’s analysis, Viettel’s capabilities are emphasized on two levels: technical proficiency and system-level integration. The recognition by a prestigious international defense publication reinforces the view that Vietnamese enterprises are entering the ranks of global providers of advanced defense technology solutions.
