Foreign companies that will operate in the liberated territories of Azerbaijan want to use locally produced drones, Director of Science and Technology Park LLC, a resident of the ANAS High Technologies Park, Zahir Nasibov told Report.
According to him, foreign companies would like to use drones to study and assess the forests in the liberated territories and prepare a map.
“Within the framework of the 15th Azerbaijan International Agricultural Exhibition - Caspian Agro and the 27th Azerbaijan International Food Industry Exhibition - InterFood Azerbaijan, held on May 18-20 in Baku, we established contacts with these foreign companies. We are looking forward to the cooperation,” he said.
Nasibov added that one of the Russian companies participating in the exhibition expressed interest in drones.
He noted that the Science and Technology Park was created by the decision of the Presidium of ANAS (Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences) on September 7, 2016. The main goal of the enterprise is the development and improvement of innovative products and high technologies. The company has produced several types of glider and copter drones.
Nasibov said that glider-type drones are designed for long-range flights.
“These drones were designed for conducting surveillance. We are also developing other types of drones. For example, spraying drones are used in the agricultural sector. We can produce them on special orders. Due to the lack of buyers in the Azerbaijani market, these drones have not been produced so far. There are no buyers in the domestic market. Because an enterprise that wants to buy a drone must obtain the approval of five government agencies. And this is very difficult. There are practically no enterprises, individuals that meet these conditions. In Azerbaijan, we have sold a drone to just one organization. We also have permission to sell drones abroad,” he added.
Nasibov said that, in general, the legislation does not prohibit the sale of drones.
“You just need to get special permission. And few buyers meet these requirements. The only problem with government organizations is that they want the drones within a month or two. But it is impossible to produce drones in such a short time,” he noted.