The FINANCIAL — The Ministry of Defense of Georgia bought Spanish-made unmanned aerial vehicles. The purchase of drones follows recently announced defence projects under Garibashvili’s initiative, for update and modernisation of various assets of the defence forces. Defense Minister visited the Marneuli Air Base, where he attended a show flight of new aerial systems. Also, a few days ago Minister of Defence of Hungary paid a first official visit to Georgia. After the meeting, a protocol on bilateral cooperation was signed, which will further deepen and develop the partnership between the defence ministries of the two countries.
The Ministry of Defense of Georgia reported on September 28 that it purchased Spanish-made unmanned aerial vehicles, as well as renewed existing aircraft, and retrained the personnel. AUS Sniper Unnamed Aerial Vehicle (the Alpha 800 UAV), one of the models purchased by the Ministry, has recently been in a center of controversy after the Spanish manufacturer complained about it being gifted by Israeli officials to Russian PM Dmitry Medvedev in November 2016. Spanish side claimed this amounted to the transfer of sensitive technologies, according to civil.ge
A show flight of the newly purchased drones was set up at the Marneuli Aviation Base in Georgia’s south-east for minister Irakli Garibashvili, with the ministry saying the devices would “significantly strengthen defensive capabilities” of the Georgian Defence Forces. The “tactical and operational” drones will equip aerial reconnaissance units of the GDF and also be used for exercises and rescue missions in the country, the MoD announced. The purchase of drones follows recently announced defence projects under Garibashvili’s initiative, for update and modernisation of various assets of the defence forces, as reported by agenda.ge
Minister of Defence of Georgia Irakli Garibashvili and Minister of Defence of Hungary Tibor Benkő discussed the aspects of bilateral defence cooperation during the meeting held in the Ministry of Defence. After the official welcome ceremony in the MoD, the counterparts held the extended meeting with the participation of Georgian and Hungarian Defence Ministry representatives. Minister Irakli Garibashvili thanked his Hungarian counterpart for his firm support of Georgia`s sovereignty, territorial integrity and Euro-Atlantic membership aspirations.
Regional and global security challenges, Black Sea Security Architecture, NATO-Georgia relations and Georgia`s contribution in international peacekeeping operations were the main topics of the discussion during the meeting.
Minister Garibashvili thanked the Hungarian side for the Hungarian officers` active involvement in the European Union Monitoring Mission (EUMM). After the meeting, a protocol on bilateral cooperation was signed, which will further deepen and develop the partnership between the defence ministries of the two countries.
It is interesting to note that U.S. and Georgia-led fifth Noble Partner international military exercise was held south-east of Tbilisi from September 7 to September 18, 2020. The objective of the military exercise was to improve the combat readiness and interoperability between the military forces of Georgia, U.S and partner nations and maintaining stable and secure environment in the Black Sea Region. Read more.
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