Kazakhstan purchased American drones to monitor borders

History

2022: Kazakhstan purchased American drones to monitor borders

As it became known in early May 2022 , the Border Service of the National Security Committee of the Republic of Kazakhstan received unmanned aerial vehicles manufactured by the American company AeroVironment. These drones will be used to monitor the country's state borders.

According to TASS, citing the press service of the American Embassy in Kazakhstan, the department of military cooperation in the field of security of the US Embassy in Kazakhstan, together with the Border Service of Kazakhstan, completed the training of Raven UAVs from AeroVironment. The training was organized as part of the program to develop the capabilities of the partner countries of Section 333. The number of sets transferred is not specified.

Kazakhstan purchased American drones to monitor borders

AeroVironment RQ-11 Raven is a compact remotely controlled unmanned aerial vehicle. It was developed for the US Department of Defense, but by May 2022 it was adopted by the armies of several other countries.

Raven can be launched from the hand (similar to an aircraft model) and does not require a prepared landing site. The UAV is transported in three small containers. The package includes three unmanned vehicles, a spare battery and a charger. The RQ-11 can fly automatically with GPS navigation, and, if necessary, can be manually controlled by the operator. The device can overcome up to 10 km at an altitude of up to 5000 m at a speed of 45-100 km/h.

The RQ-11 Raven was originally introduced as the FQM-151 in 1999, but was subsequently significantly upgraded.

Earlier, a short message appeared on the website of the US State Department about an expanded strategic partnership with Kazakhstan. Much attention was paid to the cooperation of Washington and Nur-Sultan on security issues and the fight against terrorism. In these areas, "positive development" was recorded, which was expressed in the "construction of a training center for border guards intended for the entire Central Asian region," the State Department said in a statement.^[1]

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