Azerbaijan increases purchase of Russian weapons

Rosoboronexport is planning to hold talks with 25 foreign delegations at the Russian Arms Expo - 2015 in Nizhny Tagil. The delegation of Azerbaijan was especially interested in the technology of ground forces, particularly the extension of major contracts for the supply of T-90S tanks, BMP-3 self-propelled artillery and a heavy flamethrower system, the Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies said.

The organizers of the exhibition previously said that at least 65 foreign delegations would join the exhibition, at which more than 250 Russian companies will present their production.

The Deputy Director General of Rosoboronexport, Igor Sevastyanov, said that the portfolio of foreign orders for Russian arms and equipment has exceeded $12 billion.

"Our company is promoting more than 700 units of military products to the international market," Sevastyanov added.

The Russian Arms Expo-2015 will last for three days. The demonstrations will take place on a test site of ​​400 thousand square meters, which will demonstrate the combat and operational characteristics of all kinds of weapons in real time. The latest Russian armored vehicles, including the T-14 tank and T-15 Armata, will be presented at the exhibition.

The editor-in-chief of the newspaper 'Journalistic Truth', Vladislav Shurigin, told Vestnik Kavkaza that Azerbaijan is actively involved in the rearmament of its armed forces. "It is most advantageous for Azerbaijan to buy weapons in Russia. Of course, they prefer to buy what is needed for Azerbaijan in the framework of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict," the expert noted.

He drew attention to the cost advantage of Russian military technology. "The Azerbaijani army was built on the remains of the Soviet army, and its military organization and most of the weapons and equipment remain. Accordingly, the training system, which was tuned precisely for Russian weapons, also remained," Vladislav Shurigin stressed.

As the editor-in-chief of 'Military-Industrial Courier' and the magazine 'Aerospace Defense', Michael Khodarenok,  told Vestnik Kavkaza earlier, Azerbaijan prefers to purchase weapons in Russia for two reasons: on the one hand, Russia offers very modern and efficient and sometimes even unique technologies, on the other hand, it is the most reliable supplier.

"The fact is that the Russian Federation is a very reliable supplier of weapons, and if contracts are signed, then weapons will be delivered right on time, and then their technical support will continue, and no political winds are able to influence the military-technical cooperation with such countries as Azerbaijan," the expert noted.