Defense industry companies in Central Europe are reportedly in negotiations to sell their products and provide related services to African countries in an effort to attract buyers away from Russian weaponry in the region. According to Reuters, representatives from these companies and government officials have confirmed these discussions.
The focus of these negotiations is primarily on former members of the Warsaw Pact. Of particular interest is the activity of the Czech Republic, which is currently a member of NATO but has a history of supplying military equipment to African countries and now has a good chance of reestablishing cooperation.
“The best new markets are in Africa because they still use Soviet-era equipment but now want to add Western technologies to it,” commented Jiri Hynek, President of the Association of Defense and Security Industry of the Czech Republic.
As stated in the report, Czech aerospace company Aero Vodochody is currently in talks with potential buyers regarding the sale of their light attack aircraft, the L-39NG. Additionally, representatives of the organization are offering African clients the opportunity to upgrade their existing models of these aircraft.
According to Vice President of Sales at Aero Vodochody, Filip Kulstrunka, there is a growing interest from new customers. He added that this is due to a number of African countries wanting to move away from using Russian and Chinese equipment.
Earlier, it was reported that Burkina Faso had made a purchase of Russian weaponry at a favorable price.
