On 11 September, the Georgian Ministry of Defence (MOD) signed deals with two Israeli defence companies in order to upgrade its air defence capabilities. According to the official statement of Georgia’s MOD, anti-aircraft defences of the Georgian Defence Forces (GDF) will undergo a “complete rehabilitation and modernisation,” while air assets will also be upgraded, reported agenda.ge.

In agreements unveiled by the Georgian MOD, the Rafael Advanced Defence Systems company will work with the GDF to bring anti-air assets up to required standards, with personnel crewing the systems being re-trained. Meanwhile, Elbit Systems, another internationally recognised Israeli company specialising in arms technology, will use their expertise to upgrade electronic systems of air assets of the Georgian armed forces.

These agreements are in line with the statements made by Georgia’s Defence Minister Irakli Garibashvili on 12 June that the country’s Defence Forces units will replace their aging hardware and arms for modern, NATO-standard models in an overhaul this year. To recall, on 1 May, the NATO Foreign Ministers decided to provide a new aid package for Georgia. The Special Representative of the Secretary-General of NATO for the Caucasus and Central Asia James Appathurai also announced future steps in the NATO-Georgia cooperation, which will mean more involvement in ‘hybrid defence’ activities for Georgia and strengthened cooperation, which concerns cyber-attacks or misinformation, energy blockade, disguised intelligence or military activity. Another step will be involving Georgia in an ‘airspace security program,’ which will give the country a better idea of what is happening in its airspace (Caucasus Watch reported).

To note, Georgia and Israel have had a long tradition of military cooperation. Until 2005, Israel provided extensive security assistance to Georgia, which included the improvement of the MiG 25 aircraft, sales of ammunition and small arms, and the provision of military experts to assist in training troops on how to use the procurements. In February 2005, however, Russian pressure on Israel compelled it to restrict military relations with Georgia to the sale of military equipment that is not for attack purposes. In June 2013, a large delegation from Georgia arrived in Israel, including the country’s former Prime Minister and current chairperson of the ruling Georgian Dream party Bidzina Ivanishvili and former Defence Minister Irakli Alasania, with the intention of renewing arms deals with Israel and acquiring defensive weapons such as drones and anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles, but the deal did not come to fruition.