Kazakhstan, Astana, 6 May / Trend, D. Mukhtarov /
Kazakhstan's Army has done much to establish itself during the past 20 years, Kazakh political scientist, head of the'Who's Who in Kazakhstan' project Daniyar Ashimbayev told Trend on the eve of Defenders of the Fatherland Day.
Defenders of the Fatherland Day is being celebrated as a national holiday for the first time on May 7 of this year.
"The participation of Kazakh units in international operations through organizations such as the SCO and the Collective Security Treaty Organization, as well as in partner exercises with NATO was appreciated by the international community. Considering the tasks set before Kazakhstan's army, it has successfully dealt with them," he added.
"Fortunately, the Kazakh Army's combat capability has not yet been tested," Ashymbayev said.
"Our neighbors are Russia, Uzbekistan, China, Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan. They do not pose a military threat to us. Allah forbid that we have to check the combat readiness of our army in actual combat," the analyst said.
At the same time, according to the expert, there are concerns surrounding emergency cases such as recent military aircraft crashes, deaths and harassment among servicemen.
"Moreover, there is serious concern with our naval forces, which were established in the spring of 1993. We have three rear admirals but we do not see any serious potential for military activity in the Caspian Sea. Our navy is there to counter balance the careful build-up of our neighbors' forces. The navy allows us to protect our oil and gas fields in the sea," Ashymbayev said.
Meanwhile, on the eve of Defenders of the Fatherland Day, during an online conference titled 'Strong army - Strong Kazakhstan!' in Astana, First Deputy Minister of Defence, Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Kazakhstan Saken Zhasuzakov said that the Armed Forces of Kazakhstan are as ready for battle as ever.
"I want to say that today, the armed forces of the republic are as battle worthy as ever, I can take responsibility for these words. Over the past several years, the fighting strength and the structure of the army have been formatted to meet the threats of the twenty-first century," Zhasuzakov said.
According to him, the structure of the armed forces today is very compact and unified.
"From the department to the brigade and regiment, the army is structured in a way that may act not only on linear tactics, but also in a non-linear manner in order to be able to act against asymmetric threats. We have also introduced a system of powerful fire support, mixed air bases with helicopters and airplanes. Additionally, I would like to say that today, the backbone of any army is based on a powerful air force," he said.
The Deputy Minister added that in the last three years, the combat strength of the Air Force of Kazakhstan increased more than twice in proportion. A major overhaul and modernization of aircraft and helicopters has been undertaken.
"We are now fully implementing the program of development of military transport aircraft. We have purchased and continue to purchase Airbus 1295 military transport aircraft, modern aircraft, new helicopters, drones, which increase the military potential of the army," Saken Zhasuzakov said.
According to him, major attention is paid to the training of the units during operations.
"Our troops can operate equally as effective in both day and night. Our soldiers have new weaponry and night vision devices. We have started to update radio communications and have attained modern communication systems," he said.
According to him, much emphasis is given to training at night in the mountains and in settlements.
"We are closely monitoring current events, including the conflict in Syria. We are quickly changing our programs to adapt to threats that may arise to our army", the Deputy Defense Minister concluded.