Today.Az » Business » Uzeir Jafarov: "Azerbaijan will be unable to produce competitive military technique in the next five years"
26 September 2008 [09:48] - Today.Az


"I am, certainly, glad about the intention of the Azerbaijan leadership, especially, the military one, to start production of planes and helicopters in Azerbaijan. But there is an objective reality that this intention will be impossible in the next few years", said famous military expert Uzeir Jafarov.

According to him, even the countries, that have ancient traditions in this sphere, are facing difficulties in the sphere of production of competitive equipment, planes, helicopters, tanks and other technique.

Therefore, he considers that Azerbaijan, which has no such traditions, will be unable to produce a competitive military technique.

"Moreover, there is deficit of specialists in this sphere. Those first-rate specialists, who worked at the military enterprises of Azerbaijan, have left the country long before", said Jafarov and added that he does not exclude that Azerbaijan will have first-rate specialists in the sphere of defense industry and that Azerbaijan will produce competitive tanks, aircrafts and helicopters in the future, but this will take time and Azerbaijan will be unable to produce competitive military technique in the next five years.

As for the cooperation between local Iglim with Russian Vympel in production of aviation technique, he said that military enterprises existed in Azerbaijan even in the Soviet times, but they produced spare parts, not military technique.

"Yes, the Iglim plant produces parts, used in the assembly of aircrafts and helicopters. But it does not mean that this plant is able to produce aircrafts and helicopters, for this plant does not have the required producing capacities", said he.

According to the military expert, raising the producing capacities of the military enterprises, involvement of foreign specialists and purchase of advanced technologies for the further production of aircrafts, helicopters and other military technique will require colossal financial investments.

"I do not exclude that this project may be implemented somewhere in the future. But now the local military industry complex is too young, while the problems, hampering the implementation of these ambitious plans, are too great. The memories of the bitter experience of the production of military technique in Baku and Ganja add to this pessimism. Azerbaijan should better purchase best samples of military technique in the most developed countries in the sphere of weapon production.

/Day.Az/


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