Formed December 16, 2005 | Website www.mdi.gov.az | |
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Headquarters 40, Metbuat Ave. Baku, AZ 1141, Azerbaijan Republic Agency executive Yavar Jamalov, Minister of Defence Industry of Azerbaijan | ||
The Ministry of Defence Industry of Azerbaijan (Azerbaijani: Аzərbаycаn Rеspubliкаsının Мüdаfiə Sənаyеsi Nаzirliyi) is a governmental agency within the Cabinet of Azerbaijan in charge of design, manufacturing, regulation and maintenance of products in the fields of defense, radio electronics, instrument engineering.
Contents
- Background
- Enterprises
- Cooperation
- Research Production Enterprise Iglim
- Air Force
- Navy
- Current production
- Potential future projects
- References
The Ministry was established on December 16, 2005 by presidential decree. The new Ministry, headed by Yavar Jamalov, incorporated the State Departments for Military Industry and for Armaments and the Military Science Center, each of which was formerly a separate agency within the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry.
Background
Azerbaijan has a desire to become a major arms exporter to the South Caucasus, Central Asia and Middle East. It was announced in January 2008 that the defence industry of Azerbaijan would begin to manufacture armoured personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles, as well as small calibre artillery guns. Whether this has actually taken place is unclear. The new ministry is cooperating with the defence sectors of Ukraine, Belarus and Pakistan. In 2008 several more military factories were created in Azerbaijan.
According to Sumarinly, the MDI has been in talks with various Israeli defense firms and two Turkish companies about the production of an armored vehicle based on the Russian T-55 tank’s chassis. MDI will also provide 30 South-African-designed Matador and Marauder armored vehicles to the army.
Matador and Marauder mine-protected vehicles at the military parade in Baku, Azerbaijan
In March 2011 the MDI presented its prototype of an Austrian-designed four-seater known as the Diamond DA-42 military passenger plane. The plane is assembled by AZAD Systems, an Azerbaijani state-owned firm.
Overall, Azerbaijani military production more than doubled between 2009 and 2010, and the product line expanded by 17 percent, according to MDI.
Enterprises
Enterprises of the Ministry include:
Cooperation
The Ministry’s enterprises co-operate with partners in many foreign countries in following areas:
Recently, the Turkish firms of ASELSAN and MKEK has signed a deal with Azerbaijan. ASELSAN has been awarded to co-produce monocular night vision sights and thermal scopes (sniper rifles etc.) with Azerbaijan.
Makina Kimya Endüstrisi Kurumu (MKE) has been awarded a contract worth $1.150.000 to produce weapons, ammunition, chemicals and other materials. Besides the contract, MKEK will also take part in the assistance of modernization of the Azeri defense industries.
Azerbaijani-made prototypes of Orbiter 2M Unmanned aerial vehicle are expected to undergo testing for up to two years. Full-scale production won’t begin before 2013, under the existing timetable. Production of drones has started at Azad Systems, a joint venture between Azerbaijan’s Defence Industry Ministry and Israeli manufacturer Aeronautics.
Research Production Enterprise Iglim
Air Force
The country is also manufactures Israeli-designed spy planes. Among the licensed pilotless spy plane is the Orbiter-2M and the Aerostar. Both are manufactured at the government-owned Azad Systems Company plant near Baku. The head of the Defense Industry, Yaver Jamalov, said that by the end of 2011 a total of 60 UAVs will be produced.
Navy
In May 2011, President of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic Rovnag Abdullayev stated that Azerbaijan will start the production of national warships after 2013.
Current production
In 2008, Azerbaijan revealed the Istiglal IST-14.5. An anti-material rifle, which can be taken down into 2 separate components for easy transportation. The rifle is said to be operable in adverse weather such as rain and dirt with temperature ranges from 50 to -50 degrees Celsius. The rifle is operated in several countries. In 2011, Azerbaijan has begun producing AK-74M assault rifles under a license from the Russian armaments manufacturer Izhmash. The assault rifles are being produced for the Azerbaijani Armed Forces under the name Khazri. In addition to production of Istiglal IST-14.5 and AK-74M, Azerbaijan has also been producing the following weapon systems:
Potential future projects
Murad Bayar, the undersecretary for Turkish Defense Industries, said that Turkey aimed to manufacture new tanks for the Turkish Armed Forces. "Some of these tanks could be manufactured in Azerbaijan, and some can be produced in Turkey, joint production with Azerbaijan in line with this country`s needs in the future." Bayar told.
Azerbaijani-made prototypes of Orbiter 2M Unmanned aerial vehicle are expected to undergo testing for up to two years. Full-scale production won’t begin before 2013, under the existing timetable. Production of drones has started at Azad Systems, a joint venture between Azerbaijan’s Defence Industry Ministry and Israeli manufacturer Aeronautics.
According to the Azerbaijani APA agency in November 2010, "Azerbaijan is in the negotiations with some other countries on helicopter production." - said by the Minister of Defence Industry of Azerbaijan, Yavar Jamalov. He also mentioned that recently the Ukrainian Premier Minister offered Azerbaijan joint production of 100 helicopters and it is possible. According to him, the Ministry of Defence Industry of Azerbaijan is in the negotiations with some other countries as well as Ukraine.