Azerbaijan triples defense production

Azerbaijan, which holds the largest military budget in the South Caucasus, has considerably increased the volume of production of defense goods in 2015 as compared to previous years.

Defense Industry Minister Yaver Jamalov said at a board meeting of the ministry dedicated to the results of 2015 that last year the volume of production of defense goods in Azerbaijan increased by 3.1 times compared to 2010.

Azerbaijan mastered production of 11 types of products that were recommended to make operational and put into mass production.

Last year, the Defense Industry Ministry accomplished work over the creation of night vision devices, prismatic binoculars with a compass, mine fuses of different types and organized their production.

The ministry also continued design and experimental work on the creation of sniper rifles of special purpose in accordance with the NATO standards, ammunitions for automatic weapons, and machine guns of special purpose.

Azerbaijani domestically manufactures the Istiglal sniper rifle, Mubariz rifle, Orbiter-2M unmanned intelligence drones, Gurza armored patrol car, "Matador" and "Marauder" armored vehicles, anti-tank mines, etc.

Since 2009, the Defense Industry Ministry has demonstrated its products at international exhibitions.

The ministry is now in the process of preparations for the second Azerbaijan International Defense Exhibition "ADEX-2016" due in Baku this year. More than 100 international companies have passed registration to participate at the exhibition.

Today the ministry is working closely with leading companies and firms in various fields of military industry.

It plans to produce a new generation of unmanned aerial vehicles, including the UAVs targeting to destroy the enemy army.

Azerbaijan, which is in war with neighboring Armenia over the latter's territorial claims, keeps in focus the armament.

The country purchased numerous weapons from foreign countries including Turkey, Russia and Israel, to modernize and upgrade its armed forces, and signed military contracts with over 20 countries which envisage a large-scale weapons supply.

Azerbaijan's military budget for 2015 was about $5 billion.

The country's international purchases and domestic production of military equipment target protecting its territory from continuous aggression and provocations by the neighboring Armenia.

Azerbaijan, according to the US-based Global Firepower survey center, leaves behind the CIS and regional countries to take its place among the first 70 strongest militaries of the world.

The survey center has ranked the Azerbaijani army as 64 of 126 in the list of world's strongest armies with a GFP Power Index rating of 1.5221.

It reports that as of January 18, 2016, Azerbaijan's weapon arsenal possesses 314 tanks, 121 aircrafts, 79 helicopters, 47 naval vehicles to enter the list of countries with well-equipped military forces in the world.

/By AzerNews/