MIDDLE EAST, NORTH AFRICA The Role of ’s Drones in Military Engagements Abroad OE Watch Commentary: Turkey is becoming a drone superpower as the Turkish defense industry continues to produce lethal and battle-tested combat drones. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have played a crucial role in Turkey’s military engagements in Syria against Kurdish groups and the Syrian regime, in the military support to ’s Government of National Accord, in northern against outlawed Kurdish militants, and in the eastern Mediterranean in the dispute with Greece over maritime rights. Most recently Turkish-made drones were seen striking Armenian positions, air defense systems, artillery units and tanks in Nagorno-Karabakh. In the past Bayraktar TB2 on Runway. two decades, Turkey has heavily invested in its defense industry to reduce its Source: Bayhaluk via Wikimedia, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bayraktar_TB2_Runway.jpg CC-BY-SA-4.0 reliance on Western arms purchases including UAVs. The development of its UAV industry has been part of this drive to boost self-reliance. While the first accompanying article highlights the role Turkish drones played in the war between and Armenia, the second article reports on the possibility of Turkey’s largest-ever drone export to . The first article states that Turkey’s Bayraktar TB2 a medium-altitude long-range tactical unmanned drone, along with Roketsan-manufactured smart munitions has dominated the battlefield in the war between Azerbaijan and Armenia. However, even more important to the success of Azerbaijan has been Turkey’s war plans which it developed through its military operations in Syria and Libya. According to the author of the first excerpted article, this concept of war was developed by the in partnership with the defense industry. As the author states, this concept of war is to destroy surface-to-air-missile systems with UAVs to suppress the enemy’s air defense. The article notes that the successful utilization of Turkish TB2 drones by Azerbaijan is significant for the future of Turkey’s defense industry and specifically for its drone industry. This could possibly pave the way for Azerbaijan purchasing other Turkish drones currently under development. According to the second article, Ukraine plans to purchase up to 48 Bayraktar TB2 UAVs. However, it is unclear whether these UAVs will be manufactured with a joint venture in Ukraine or in Turkey. The article notes that since this is a large purchase, they might be manufactured in Ukraine to reduce the cost. In 2019 Ukraine signed an agreement with TB2 drone’s manufacturer Makina to purchase 12 TB2 UAVs and by the end of 2019, Baykar Makina delivered six of them to Ukraine alongside three ground control station systems and equipment. However, the article states that this additional purchase is likely to depend on the resistance of TB2 to severe climatic conditions in Ukraine. End OE Watch Commentary (Gunduz) “…the open-source intelligence data available [shows] Ankara transferred Bayraktar TB-2 UAVs and Roketsan- made smart ammunition (possibly MAM-L) to .”

Source: “Türk Harp Yaklaşiminda ‘Dronizasyon’ Dönemi: Azerbaycan, Türkiye’nin Orta Doğu’daki SIHA Konseptlerini Kafkasya’ya Taşidi (Dronization Period in Turkish Approach to War: Azerbaijan carried Turkey’s UAVs concept in the Middle East to Caucasus),” Edam.org, 28 September 2020. https://edam.org.tr/turk-harp-yaklasiminda-dronizasyon-donemi-azerbaycan-turkiyenin-orta-dogudaki-siha-konseptlerini- kafkasyaya-tasidi/

As it can be seen from the open-source intelligence data available, Ankara transferred Bayraktar TB-2 UAVs and Roketsan-made smart ammunition (possibly MAM-L) to Baku. As a matter of fact, the news report indicated that Azerbaijan was interested in the purchase of Bayraktar TB-2 in the summer of 2020. These systems, which stand out with their thousands of hours of combat flight experience and their performance against Russian-made weapons in hybrid warfields such as Syria and Libya, seem to have achieved results against Armenia. … However, the skills transfer from Turkey to Azerbaijan is not limited to weapons systems. What is even more important here is that a concept successfully implemented by the Turkish Armed Forces in Syria and Libya is being implemented by the Azerbaijani Armed Forces in the Caucasus. … This concept results from Turkish Armed Forces and Turkey’s rising defense industry cooperation by destroying surface-to-air missile systems with armed unmanned systems to suppress the enemy’s air defenses. Source: “Ukraine considers buying 48 Bayraktar TB2 drones from Turkey,” Daily Sabah, 06 October 2020. https://www.dailysabah.com/ business/defense/ukraine-considers-buying-48-bayraktar-tb2-drones-from-turkey

Kyiv plans to purchase up to 48 Bayraktar Tactical Block 2 (TB2) unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), Turkey’s domestically made combat drones, a Ukrainian news site reported, citing the export and import body operating under Ukraine’s defense industry umbrella institution. The purchase of such a large number of UAVs raises questions of whether the vehicles would be jointly produced or produced locally inside Ukraine… Additionally, in line with the accelerating cooperation between Kyiv and Ankara and as part of the mutual visits by high-level officials from both countries, the defense industry has always been at the forefront of the relationship. Turkish drone magnate Baykar Makina, owner of the Bayraktar TB2 drones that have been dubbed game-changers since the TSK’s first use of them on the field, would be no exception to such cooperation. … [Vadym Nozdri, the CEO of Ukrspetsexport] said that they are now testing the already purchased drone’s resistance to more severe climatic conditions which will be a determining factor in additional purchases.

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