Georgia to produce, test domestic drones in April – defence minister

Georgia’s defence minister Juansher Burchuladze on Tuesday said a joint Polish-Georgian enterprise had plans to produce and test domestic drones in April. 

 

Burchuladze earlier announced that the production of unmanned reconnaissance and combat aircraft in Georgia would begin by the end of 2022 by Polish and Georgian professionals of the Delta WB. 

 

Speaking with Rustavi 2 channel, the official also claimed existing ties with the United States had been “upgraded in all formats”, and stressed his February visit to Washington had “once again demonstrated this”. 

 

He highlighted the Washngton’s decision to allocate additional 33 million USD in security aid for Georgia’s defence, and his participation in Ukraine Defence Contact Group in Brussels following the visit, that was initiated by the US last year to ensure aid for Ukraine in its defence against the ongoing Russian invasion. 

 

In other notes the official claimed the conditions in the country’s armed forces had been “better than ever” and pointed to the increase in servicemembers’ salaries by 40 percent over the past two years. 

 

He also rejected the claims by domestic TV channels that his office had handed mobile phones to civilians as “fake” and stressed financial agreements were available on the body’s webpage. 

 

Speaking about the country’s new defence code that has been submitted to the parliament for approval, the official stressed individuals would no longer be able to evade compulsory military service via the clergymen’s status. 

 

His office explained the clergymen will be able to choose an alternative, paid labour service, while others will be offered six, eight and eleven month training according to their career decisions, instead of current 12-month service.