Azerbaijan is phasing out the Kalashnikov. Israel is opening a weapons factory in Baku

Azerbaijan is beginning to manufacture Western-designed rifles on its own territory thanks to an agreement with the Israeli company Ari Arms. According to the Israeli business daily Globes, a new factory was inaugurated in the presence of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. For Baku, this is seen as an opportunity to build a national defence industry that is less reliant on imports.

The factory, owned by the Azerbaijani government, was already being used to manufacture Kalashnikov rifles. Now, with the expansion of operations resulting from the joint venture involving Ari Arms, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defence Industries, led by Vugar Mustafayev, and the local firm Iqlim Scientific Production Enterprise, the plant will also house a production line dedicated to M4 rifles. The model developed by the Israeli company, known as the OR-4, belongs to the family of M4/M16 rifles.

According to information reported by Globes, the multi-million contract involves the production of several tens of thousands of rifles. During the Adex international defence exhibition, Minister Mustafayev presented the first prototype produced at the factory to Aliyev and Defence Minister Zakir Hasanov, outlining the project’s specifications and the production process.

For Ari Arms, the partnership represents an opportunity to consolidate a long-term commercial relationship and stabilises Israel’s presence in the South Caucasus. The company, controlled by Avichai Stolero and Oren Anconina, operates in the small arms sector and has increased its workforce to around 60 employees, tripling it over the course of a year and a half. According to Globes, production capacity has grown by over 100 per cent. The company has also secured a contract to supply M4 rifles to IDF combat units and has taken part in a new Ministry of Defence tender for small arms.

The agreement with Azerbaijan is in addition to the company’s other international initiatives, including those launched with the Philippines and Albania. Nor is it the first or the only one between the two countries. The relationship between Israel and Azerbaijan, in fact, already includes more sophisticated military supplies. In recent years, Baku has acquired Hermes 900 drones from Elbit Systems, Barak MX air defence systems from Israel Aerospace Industries and missiles from the Spike family manufactured by Rafael. All of these systems have been deployed by Azerbaijan in conflicts with Armenia.