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Kazakhstan, Türkiye Working on New Military Transport Deal

By Nigar Bayramli August 15, 2024

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Kazakhstan has purchased a significant quantity of Turkish armored vehicles and launched talks to assemble Turkish Anka drones under license. / Turkic World

Kazakhstan and Türkiye are working on a bilateral agreement to allow the transit of military equipment and personnel through their airspaces.

"A draft agreement between the Kazakh and Turkish governments on the transit of military equipment and staff through the two countries' airspaces have been posted on the portal 'Open Legal Documents'," Kazakhstan’s Tengri News reported on August 13.

"The signing of the agreement is aimed at creating a legal foundation and determining conditions for the transit of military equipment and staff through the two countries' airspaces," the report said.

The agreement contains clauses about the two countries' national security.

"If one of the sides decides that the transit of military property and staff of the sides does not comply with the provisions of this agreement or poses a threat to their national security or other issues determined by the countries' laws, it reserves the right to refuse to give any permission to the transit, and suspend or cancel those transit permits that had been granted previously," the website quoted the draft as saying.

The document also details information security, noting that "The sides will ensure the protection of information received or provided under this agreement in line with the laws of the countries and the agreement between the Kazakh and Turkish governments on the mutual protection of classified information in the military field signed in September 2018.”

“The information may not be disclosed or transferred to a third party without the prior written consent of the party providing the information," it added.

The agreement will be valid for five years and automatically extended for the next five-year period unless one of the parties expresses the intention to terminate cooperation under this document. Defense Minister Ruslan Zhaksylykov would sign the agreement on behalf of Kazakhstan.

Kazakhstan’s defense sector is undergoing a major upgrade, reflecting a comprehensive strategy to strengthen national security. In 2024, the Central Asian country introduced modern armored vehicles such as “Arlan” and “Cobra II” to enhance unit mobility and security, integrated tactical UAVs like “SUNQAR” and mini-systems “EVOMax,” bolstering intelligence and surveillance operations.

This year, the Kazakh naval forces purchased a fireproof boat to protect coastal areas, while the Aerospace Forces tested the Turkish-designed Anka medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) UAV. In May 2022, the Kazakhstan Engineering national company and the Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) signed an agreement approving the joint production of the Anka drones in Kazakhstan, beginning from 2024.

The world’s largest aerospace company Airbus delivered the first of a pair of A400M Atlas transport aircraft to Kazakhstan in June. The second airliner is scheduled for delivery in 2025. The A400M can carry 116 fully equipped paratroopers and 37 tons of cargo at a time.

In July 2024, Kazakhstan hosted the military exercise “Birlestik-2024” jointly with the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. The military exercises signify a deepening of military ties among the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) members, driven by the need for collective security and regional stability.

The exercises focused on enhancing regional cooperation and interoperability among the participating countries' military forces, improving readiness and capabilities through joint operations, including ground and air reconnaissance, naval special forces, artillery, assault and tank units, aviation, and naval vessels.

The Armed Forces of Kazakhstan exceeds 70,000 people, and the defense budget for this year was about $3 billion. The army has 350 T-72BA main battle tanks, almost 900 armored vehicles, 490 artillery systems, and 12 Tochka tactical missile systems. The Air Force has 120 combat and military transport aircraft of various types and 74 helicopters. It also has long-range (S-200 and S-300), medium-range (Buk, Volkhov), and short-range (Kub, Strela) air defense systems. Six missile artillery and anti-diversion boats are on combat watch near the Caspian coast.

Kazakhstan and Türkiye’s growing military cooperation is set to move beyond the local production of drones. The budding military cooperation with Türkiye comes as a result of Kazakhstan’s efforts to strengthen its defense-industrial complex through creating a production cycle based on localization to reduce dependence on imports.

At the end of July 2023, Kazakhstani state enterprise Uralsk Plant Zenit signed an agreement with two companies under the Turkish Ministry of National Defense, Asfat and YDA Group, to build ships for Kazakhstan’s navy. The two countries agreed to boost political, economic, trade and defense cooperation under a joint memorandum signed on May 10, 2022. The two countries also signed 15 agreements covering the defense industry, military intelligence, trade and agriculture.