Kazakhstan Aviation Industry will begin producing Israeli unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) from 2020, the company’s parent company Kazakhstan Engineering announced on 22 November.
The move comes following training and production preparation in Kazakhstan, with Kazakh engineers being trained in Israel. The country is planning to assemble UAVs at a rate of four systems per year.
The announcement comes following a previous agreement with Israel’s Elbit Systems for the acquisition of UAVs, with the Kazakh military operating a variant of the Elbit Systems Skylark I-series of surveillance/reconnaissance UAVs. Based on information published on the website of state-owned defence equipment manufacturer Kazakhstan Engineering, the unit displayed was most likely the Skylark I-LEX.
Want to read more? For analysis on this article and access to Jane’s unrivalled data and insight, learn more about our subscription options atjanes.com/products
China has expanded its defence exports across the Asia-Pacific region in recent years and entrenched its position to meet regional requirements for 'good enough' military equipment. Jon Grevatt reports
