Kazakhstan’s ministry of defence announced that it would be testing armoured personnel carriers and remote weapon systems from Turkey, state-owned Anadolu Agency reported on Monday, citing a statement from the Kazakh ministry.
The armoured personnel carrier tested by the Kazakh military is known as the Arma 8 x 8, developed by the Turkish manufacturer Otokar. In addition, the vehicle was tested with the Nefer remote controlled turret which was provided specifically to the Kazakh forces to account for the often harsh winter conditions inside the country.
According to Anadolu, Otokar provided the vehicle to Kazakhstan free of charge for testing at the Karagandi Province training range.
This delivery is another sign of the increasing interest from Kazakhstan in Turkish armaments.
On Feb. 5, Turkish officials met with their Kazakh counterparts and concluded a series of deals including in the defence sector. The exact nature and value of them was not revealed.
Last November, Kazak officials expressed interest in acquiring Bayraktar TB-2 armed drones following their successes fighting in Syria and Nagorno-Karabakh. Aselan, one of Turkey’s leading defence contractor, also was in the process of providing its SARP remote controlled weapon system to Kazakhstan as well.
Some analysts see Turkish-Kazakh cooperation as a means to mitigate the influence of Russia, who was historically the dominant power in Central Asia.
Ahval