Tag Archives: arms

Georgia makes military deal with Saudi

JAN. 27 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Georgia’s state-owned Delta, which manufactures weapons and other military equipment, said it had secured a deal worth up to 100m lari (around $40m) to build “several dozen” military evacuation vehicles for Saudi Arabia, an important deal in an economically tough environment. Georgia has invested fairly heavily in its defence and military equipment sector.

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(News report from Issue No. 265, published on Jan. 29 2016)

Kazakhstan sells arms to Jordan

JAN. 26 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kazakhstan has sold military equipment and weapons to Jordan, Kazakh defence minister Imangali Tasmagambetov said in a statement after a delegation returned from the Middle Eastern country. Mr Tasmagambetov said Kazakhstan Paramount Engineering, a joint venture with South African arms manufacturer Paramount, will supply several Arlan armoured vehicles to Jordan. The joint venture started producing the Arlan armoured personnel carriers last year. It set up the partnership in 2014.

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(News report from Issue No. 265, published on Jan. 29 2016)

Paramount opens defence plant in Kazakhstan

DEC. 1 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — South Africa’s Paramount, a private company that manufactures equipment for the police and military, opened a new plant in Astana to produce a version of their Marauder armoured personnel carrier. Kazakhstan Paramount Engineering is a joint venture with state-owned Kazakhstan Engineering Distribution. Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev attended the opening.

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(News report from Issue No. 259, published on Dec. 4 2015)

Putin gives Armenia $200m

SEPT. 7 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – After meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin at his villa outside Moscow, Armenian president Serzh Sargsyan said that Russia had agreed to give Armenia a loan of $200m to modernise its military. Russia is one of Armenia’s most important allies and keeps a large military base in the country.

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(News report from Issue No. 247, published on Sept. 11 2015)

Tajikistan and India flirt with base deal

DUSHANBE, JULY 12/13 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Indian PM Narendra Modi’s grand tour of Central Asia ended with a visit to Tajikistan, once again sparking the decade long rumour that India would lease the Ayni airbase near Dushanbe.

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty website reported that Mr Modi and Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon visited the Ayni military base 15km outside Dushanbe as well as a 50-bed military field hospital India helped set up last year, ramping up speculation an agreement was about to be signed.

Instead, the two leaders signed far less eye-catching deals on culture and education.

India has been looking to lease an airbase in Central Asia for years.

It helped renovate the air base at Ayni in 2003 but appears to have been blocked from renting the base, possibly by Russia or China, Tajikistan’s close allies.

Earlier on the trip in Russia, Mr Modi had signed a deal for India to join the China and Russia led Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) military/economic group focused on Central Asia.

India wants to start competing with China for influence over Central Asia and also for access to its various energy and metal deposits.

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(News report from Issue No. 240, published on July 16 2015)

Azerbaijani weapons exports increases

JULY 22 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Yaver Jamalov, Azerbaijan’s defence industry minister, said he wanted to increase the number of countries that Azerbaijan exported its weapons and ammunition to. Mr Jamalov said he had concluded a deal with Iraq’s government to supply hundreds of grenade launchers and mortars.

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(News report from Issue No. 241, published on July 23 2015)

Kazakhstan to produce defence kit

JUNE 9 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – A Kazakh agricultural equipment manufacturer is in negotiations with a Turkish company to buy the licence to manufacture its armoured vehicles. Kazakhstan has previously said that it wants to improve and strengthen its defence sector manufacturing base.

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(News report from Issue No. 235, published on June 11 2015)

Azerbaijan develops a drone

MAY 19 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Azerbaijan’s weapons manufacturers have developed a drone, media reported. Azerbaijan, which is still officially at war with Armenia, has been increasing military spending. It has close links with the Russian and Israeli defence sectors.

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(News report from Issue No. 232, published on May 20 2015)

Israel’s Elbit to build factory in Georgia

MARCH 30 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Elbit Cyclone, a subsidiary of Israel’s Elbit Systems, plans to build a factory in Georgia that will produce parts for passenger planes, media reported quoting Georgian economy minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili.

This is an important development for industry in Georgia as it represents a potential shift to a more hi-tech focus. Reports did not say what parts specifically the Georgian factory would produce for Elbit Cyclone, although all the factory output will be for export, but they did say the longer-term aim was to develop a hi-tech industrial sector.

The $85m cost of the project will be shared by the Georgian government and Elbit Cyclone. The factory will also employ 300 people.

And Elbit Systems already has a link with Georgia.

Prior to its 2008 war with Russia, Georgia bought several spy planes from the company. Elbit Systems is the largest publicly-traded military equipment manufacturer in Israel.

lbit Systems also makes technical equipment for the US military.
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(News report from Issue No. 225, published on April 12015)

Azerbaijan increase size of its arms industry

MARCH 4 2015 (The Bulletin) – Azerbaijan will start exporting weapons to Arab countries this year, media reported quoting the Azerbaijani defence industry minister, Yaver Jamalov. The statement is more evidence that Azerbaijan is concentrating on developing its arms industry, particularly machine guns and rifles.
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(News report from Issue No. 222, published on March 11 2015)