Friday, May 25, 2012 -
Kazakh and Turkish military firms inked a deal Thursday in Kazakhstan’s capital Astana to upgrade helicopters and armored vehicles.
The agreement between Kazakhstan Engineering (KE) and Turkish Military Electronics Company (ASELSAN) is also expected to expand the strategic partnership between the two companies.
The two parties signed the pact at the Kazakh-Turkish Business Forum, which ran at the same time as a major international investment conference in the Kazakh capital, KE said in a statement.
The defense firms aim to modernize fire-control systems of land-based armored vehicles and the avionics systems on helicopters. They will also produce communications devices and systems used by military forces.
The project will go toward meeting the defense needs of Kazakhstan and Turkey as well as produce supplies for military forces of the Central Asian republics.
State-run Kazakhstan Engineering oversees Kazakhstan’s 22 defense firms.
The Kazakh-Turkish business forum took place during the international 5th Astana Economic Forum, which itself drew around 6,500 delegates from dozens of countries.