Lyle Goldstein, director of the Asia programme at the Washington-based think tank Defence Priorities, said Turkmenistan’s long border with Iran and Ashgabat’s proximity to the country could also be a factor in its interest in strengthening air defences.
Iran has been at war with the United States and Israel since February, with missiles and drones playing a major role in the fighting. Hostilities have largely paused in recent weeks, but talks have stalled and a US naval blockade of Iranian ports remains in place.
“I could imagine that Turkmenistan is very concerned to be located next to an active war zone,” Goldstein said, adding that this could make the country more willing to invest in its armed forces, “perhaps especially in upgrading its air (drone) defences”.
Footage circulating online appears to show Y-9E military transport aircraft bearing Kazakh Air Defence Force markings, although neither Kazakhstan nor China has publicly confirmed an acquisition.
Goldstein said the trend also reflected Russia’s need to devote its air defence production to its own requirements, particularly to counter Ukraine’s long-range attacks, while advances in Chinese military technology were opening new markets for Beijing.
“Russia is distracted and also quite tapped out,” he said, adding that Beijing’s “rise through the ranks of military technology is opening up new markets for Chinese arms exports”.
Read at South China Morning Post
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