KYIV. Aug 8 (Interfax) - Ukraine's state arms trader Ukrspetsexport has signed a $140 million contract with Thailand for the delivery of an additional batch of 121 BTR-3E1 armored vehicles for the Thai armed forces, sources in the state company told Interfax, citing General Director Dmytro Salamatin.
The agreement reached is a logical continuation of successful military-technical cooperation between Ukraine and Thailand, which will keep the Ukrainian defense companies busy during the next few years, according to Salamatin.
The contract will last until 2015 and the first batch is to be delivered to Thailand in 2012, according to Interfax sources.
In experts' estimate, it is the third largest contract for exporting Ukrainian armed vehicles and it ranks among the top ten largest contracts in the history of the national defense industry.
Reports said earlier that the Thai government made the decision to buy an additional 121 BTR-3E1 armored personnel vehicles after the first batch of BTR-3E1s were tested following their arrival under a contract signed with the Thai Defense Ministry in 2006.
По информации тайских СМИ, объем контракта составил $130 млн. В общей сложности в рамках контракта тайским военным в течение 2010-2011 годов будет поставлено 112 единиц новой украинской бронетехники.
Поставки бронетехники тайскому заказчику были начаты Украиной в сентябре 2010 года. По данным украинской стороны, на сегодняшний день в Таиланд в рамках контракта для нужд армии уже поставлено 14 БТР-3Е1, две машины техобслуживания (МТО), три тренажера для подготовки экипажа БТР, боеприпасы для боевых машин.
В апреле 2011 года также обеспечена отгрузка партии БТР-3Е1 в количестве 12 машин для Королевского Тайского флота.