New Secret Documents on Belarus-Azerbaijan Military Trade

HETQ has received new secret documents regarding the military cooperation between Belarus and Azerbaijan. In June of this year, the media outlet reported on a range of military-purpose goods and services supplied by Belarus to Azerbaijan, publishing some official letters between Belarusian enterprises from 2017-2023 addressed to one another and to the Azerbaijani side.

The secret letters between Belarus and Azerbaijan reveal the agreements made and their implementation, showcasing how Belarus, considered a partner of Armenia in the CSTO, has been intensively selling military products and services to Azerbaijan in recent years, with their main target being Armenia and previously, Artsakh.

Similar to the previous article, this time the media outlet has also addressed the letters chronologically. Before the 44-day war, Belarusians were tuning up Azerbaijan's "Polonez" systems: On August 26, 2020, just one month before Azerbaijan unleashed a large-scale war against Artsakh, Dmitry Baraznov, the chief engineer of the Belarusian enterprise "Volatavto" (ОАО «Волатавто»), wrote a letter to Yuri Chyorny, the director of the republican production combined enterprise "Precision Electro-Mechanics Factory" (РПУП «Завод точной электромеханики»), stating that specialists from "Volatavto", "MZKT", and Britex companies were ready to travel to the "1221" region (referring to Azerbaijan) to carry out reclamation works.

The “MZKT” plant (Минский завод колёсных тягачей, МЗКТ) manufactures the chassis of the Belarusian “Polonez” multiple launch rocket systems “MZKT-7930”. The “Polonez” is a Belarusian alternative to the Russian “Smerch” and has been included in Azerbaijan's armaments since 2018. According to former Artsakh president Arayik Harutyunyan, during the 44-day war, Azerbaijan shelled Stepanakert not only with “Smerches” but also with “Polonezes”. "Volatavto" was created in 1991 as a subsidiary of “MZKT,” but has been a separate joint-stock company since 2009. It is also involved in the production of the “Polonez” system.

Britex Industrie-Technik is a German engineering company specializing particularly in the lifting technology segment and has a representative office in Belarus. The Precision Electro-Mechanics Factory also participates in the development and production of the “Polonez”. Reclamation works are performed based on complaints/requests from the buyer/client. This means that the Azerbaijani side must have recorded some issues regarding the “Polonez,” and the Belarusians sent specialists there to rectify them.

The “Belarusian Hounds” project, which monitors the activities of Russian and Belarusian troops, also published several secret documents in June of this year relating to the repair of “Polonez” systems in Azerbaijan in 2020. From these documents, the media outlet learned that in February 2020, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense presented the Belarusian side with certain defects that had arisen in the “Polonez” systems. These defects were identified, in particular, on the lifter of one of the transport-loading vehicles. Preventive work was also planned on six “MZKT-7930” chassis to avoid possible malfunctions. For all this, a visit of Belarusian company specialists to Azerbaijan was organized, which was mentioned above. The visit was scheduled for the first half of August 2020. The act for correcting the defects on the transport-loading vehicle's lifter was signed on September 15 in Baku. This means, right before the 44-day war, if not during it, Belarusian specialists were getting Azerbaijan’s “Polonezes” in order.

Moreover, the documents mention the “Polonez-MA” system, which is presumably the modernized version of the “Polonez-M” intended for Azerbaijan. The maximum range of fire for the “Polonez-M” is 300 km.

Belarusian specialists are regularly dispatched to Azerbaijan. The media outlet has also obtained letters from Belarusian defense industry enterprises from 2021, which again focus on the “Polonez” systems. Igor Velentey, the acting director of the state foreign trade joint venture “Belspecvneshtechnika” (ГВТУП «Белспецвнештехника»), wrote a letter in May 2021 to Yuri Chyorny, the director of “Volatavto”. “Belspecvneshtechnika” is engaged in scientific, production, and foreign trade activities (including intermediary), related to military and dual-use goods, encryption devices, information secret acquisition means, and other products. That is to say, among various activities, it is also involved in the sale of Belarusian armaments.

In his letter concerning Azerbaijan, Velentey stated that a foreign contractor was dissatisfied with the lengthy repair times for the remote control panel of one of the “Polonez” systems’ transport-loading vehicles (at that time, the panel had been under repair for more than six months). Moreover, it was revealed that after rectifying the defect that had been found on the transport-loading vehicle's lifter, for which the act was signed on September 15, 2020, the spare parts stock for the lifter was not replenished with new components. Velentey urged Chyorny to take urgent measures stemming from the contract signed with Azerbaijan in October 2016. This is essentially about the agreement on the acquisition and maintenance of “Polonezes”. From the correspondence in August 2021, the media learned that specialists from the “MZKT” enterprise (10 people, including a reserve) were to be dispatched to Azerbaijan for the periodic technical maintenance of 12 “Polonez” chassis (“MZKT-7930”) and engines.

The Belarusian systems can be utilized by Azerbaijan against civil and military infrastructures in Armenia that use GPS and similar system signals. Specifically, “Optima-3.2” is capable of targeting frequencies used by American GPS in the L1 range (1563-1587 MHz). L1 is the most crucial frequency range used for navigation purposes. Today, various applications worldwide are based on signals transmitted at frequencies in the L1 range. In a letter from I. Sadovski to Velentey, a sequence of certain steps for cooperation with the Azerbaijani side was proposed. First, Azerbaijan needed to decide which of its enterprises would be involved in the joint project’s work. One piece of the “Optima-3.2” system, which includes nine transmitters for radio jamming and an automated control system, was assessed by “KB Radar” at $750,000. This price also includes technical training for 10 people for 10 days regarding assembly and component functionality checks, as well as operational training for 10 people for five days. Operational training is also foreseen when the system is finally handed over and accepted in Azerbaijan. The price also includes one year of warranty service, spare parts, and operation documents. The letter indicates that the delivery time for the first “Optima-3.2” system is 11 months, starting from the moment when the Azerbaijani side shall transfer a 50% advance of the price to “KB Radar”. This technical-commercial proposal from the Belarusian enterprise is valid until July 1, 2024. The Azerbaijani response is unknown.