В прошлом году закуплено еще 6. Замечу, что это происходит на фоне инфляции в 1180% и безработице в 70%, А по данным FT, доля военных расходов в бюджете Зимбабве выросла в этом году с 6,5% до 12%. Вопрос: а нафига?
Это из южноафриканской Sunday Times.
Zimbabwe buys six jets from China
Wednesday August 23, 2006 10:39 - (SA)
HARARE - Zimbabwe has acquired another six jet fighters from its ally China for use by the airforce, state media reported.
The Herald quoted Defence Secretary Trust Maposa as telling lawmakers that the Chinese-made K-8 jets would be delivered within the next two months.
Zimbabwe last year purchased the first batch of the six-K8 jets from China and these were mainly used at the Air Force of Zimbabwe's (AFZ) training school.
Maposa said training and re-equipment of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces was critical for the armed forces to fulfil their constitutional obligations.
The report did not say how much the government had paid for the six jets but Maposa said his ministry had been given 140 million dollars (560,400 US dollar) by the central bank for training programmes and a further 80 million dollars for spare parts.
Following the imposition of sanctions by Western countries over the political crisis in the southern African country, Zimbabwe has looked to forge ties with Asian countries such as China, Malaysia and Singapore.
President Robert Mugabe said last week that the armed forces "have not only acquired new equipment but also learnt new military strategies" as a result of his so-called Look East policy.
The national carrier Air Zimbabwe last year bought two MA60 52-seater planes from the Chinese state-owned AVIC aircraft manufacturer and received a third plane as a gift from the Chinese government.
