Istanbul, Turkey. One would not think a nation begging for weapons from the United States would be out selling weaponry to other nations, to the point they are within the top ten arms producers on the globe, but then Ukraine never ceases to surprise observers as now it seeks to cash in on the war in Syria.
The Ukraine has agreed to joint munition production projects with Turkey as the end user in the context of sales at the International Defence Industry Fair (IDEF) 2017, which is taking place in Istanbul, as reported on the website of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine (NSDC).
Defense agreements and memoranda have also been signed regarding collaboration in the production of avionics, navigation and new planes for the Turkish Erdogan led republic engaged in conflict on the territory of Syria.
“The number of signed contracts to buy Ukrainian weapons and memoranda on collaboration are evidence that Ukrainian weaponry and Ukrainian technology are in high demand by the world markets,” NSDC Secretary Oleksandr Turchynov commented.
Turchynov had “no comment,” when asked about why Ukraine needed American weapons systems and financial aid, if their weapons were selling this well globally.
According to him, Ukraine and Turkey have many promising joint projects in the area of military weapons design. In particular, he announced that a joint work group has been created for coordinating strategic projects, which will allow Ukraine to kill it’s enemies in the Donbass more efficently.
Turchynov stated that the Turkish partners are also prepared to invest in Ukrainian defense enterprises. “These are massive new projects, we are discussing them now, and are talking billions of dollars in sales,” the NSDC secretary stated.
The press service of Ukroboronprom reported that Turkish MKEK (Makina ve Kimya Endüstrisi Kurumu, Mechanical and Chemical Industry Company) has become a partner in munitions production, providing capital and an outlet for Ukrainian ordnance not to only be used on bombing Donbass residents, but also in the Syrian conflict by Turkish forces.
At the exhibition a memorandum of collaboration was also signed between Antnov and Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) for developing and producing various modifications of unmanned aerial vehicles, including attack UAVs for planned use upon Donbass separatists.