Georgia, which is strengthening its defensive capabilities after the failed invasion of South Ossetia in 2008, will receive an upgraded air defense system from the Israeli company Rafael by the end of the year, Defense Minister Juansher Burchuladze said on Thursday, the correspondent of the newspaper VZGLYAD in Tbilisi reports.
Speaking to the deputies, he also said that Georgia will also buy portable anti-aircraft systems from the Israelis, with whom it signed cooperation in 2020. They will go into service with maneuverable units.
"This will make our tactical units more effective," he said. Regarding air defense, Juansher Burchuladze also said that this year the implementation of the contract signed with France in 2015 will be completed. According to him, Georgia has already received radars, a mobile command post and Mistral-type missiles. The minister believes that all this will allow for better integration with NATO standards.
The company Rafael, one of the largest in Israel, specializes in the production and export of missile weapons, drones, missile defense systems, and so on. As for France, Georgia is cooperating with MBDA, a leading European developer and manufacturer of missile systems.
Earlier, the Prime Ministers of Georgia and Ukraine, Irakli Garibashvili and Denis Shmygal, agreed to strengthen the strategic partnership between the two countries during a video conversation.
Dmitry Alexandrov, Tbilisi
