Georgia Wants U.S. and French Helicopters
Georgia intends to replace the Soviet-designed units of its military helicopter fleet with American and French models, the country's defense minister has said. The scope of this rearmament program isn't yet clear, but the plan nevertheless represents a strong statement of the country's geopolitical intentions, and could tie the country's military even closer to its Western partners.
Like all post-Soviet republics, upon gaining independence two decades ago Georgia inherited a military equipped entirely by Soviet-made weaponry. In Georgia's military helicopter inventory Soviet-legacy equipment still prevails, including Mi-24 attack helicopters and Mi-8 utility helicopters. (Even many ex-Soviet and Warsaw Pact countries that are now NATO members, such as Poland and Latvia, still operate many Russian helicopters.)
Defense Minister Irakli Alasania made the announcement at his year-end press conference. “We are planning to renovate and develop the U.S. utility helicopter fleet. We have negotiations with other countries and some opportunities also appeared after my visit to the Republic of France,” he said. According to a press release from the Ministry of Defense, the plan includes both transport and attack helicopters.
Alasania justified the decision by explaining that: “It is very expensive to maintain the Soviet helicopters. Procurement of the spare parts is problematic and in most cases it is practically impossible to get this service without corruption deals.”
While Western helicopters are generally more expensive, Georgia has had difficulty getting parts and service for its Russian aircraft. Russia, which fought a brief war with Georgia in 2008, does not sell Georgia any military equipment. And other ex-communist countries that can produce and service Soviet-legacy equipment, like Poland, Belarus, or Ukraine, tend to be more susceptible to Russian pressure against cooperation with Georgia.
But Georgia has experienced similar difficulty in getting replacement equipment from Western countries. Prices for Western equipment, especially big items like helicopters, tend to be beyond Georgia's relatively modest defense budget. Former President Mikheil Saakashvili lobbied the U.S. hard for donations of American equipment, in particular air defense and anti-tank weaponry. Especially after the 2008 war, however, the U.S. was loath to give such aid. “Georgia is not ready for the kind of weapons acquisitions that the president [Saakashvili] floated,” said Celeste Wallander, then U.S. deputy assistant secretary of defense for Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia Policy, in 2009. “In the future, that's not off the table, but certainly the United States . . . does not believe Georgia is ready for that kind of defense acquisition.”
While Georgia has been an active participant in many U.S. military cooperation programs, and is the largest recipient of U.S. military aid among the Caucasus and Central Asian states, it has received relatively little American hardware. (The U.S. did donate a small number of UH-1H small utility helicopters in 2001, the only large hardware transfer between the two countries.)
The situation has started to change, however. Saakashvili visited Washington in 2012 and the two sides began discussions on Georgia acquiring American military transportation helicopters, though details of that plan still have not been released. And although Saakashvili was more aggressive in trying to secure Western military support for his country, his opponents who are now in power may be more successful in that sphere than Saakashvili ever was. The peaceful change of power from Saakashvili to his opponents during Georgia’s recent elections have encouraged some of the country's Western partners, who worried about the country's shaky record on human rights and democratization.
However, the likelihood of Georgia receiving U.S. helicopters is still in doubt. Some Western allies have been alarmed by the new government's promise to try to restore relations with Russia and its zealous prosecution of some former government officials allied with Saakashvili. For instance, some pro-Saakashvili members of Congress attempted to threaten U.S. military aid to Georgia if the country continued its “democratic backsliding.” But that threating language, which was inserted into a draft of the U.S.'s defense budget bill, was taken out in the final act. Instead, the bill “will deepen Georgian-U.S. cooperation in the military sphere,” said Foreign Minister Maia Panjikidze. When senior U.S. and Georgian officials met in December to discuss defense cooperation, the American statement didn't mention any equipment transfers. So, whether the “deepened cooperation” means Georgia will soon be getting U.S. (and/or French) military helicopters, remains to be seen.