Kazakhstan is reportedly considering buying Bayraktar TB2 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) from Turkey.
The interest is believed to stem from the drones’ performance in overwhelming Armenia’s Russian-origin air defense systems in the Nagorno Karabakh war with Azerbaijan, reported Russian website Avia.pro.
Last month, a delegation from Kazakhstan’s ministry of defense visited Turkey’s Unmanned Aircraft Systems Base Command in the southeast city of Batman.
“A delegation from the Ministry of Defense of Kazakhstan visited the 14th Unmanned Aircraft Systems Base Command between 23 and 25 November, 2020, to examine the UAV and its facilities,” Turkey’s Ministry of National Defense said.
Many More Countries Show Interest
Kazakhstan is the latest country to have displayed an interest in Turkey’s Baykar Defense drones.
Bayraktar TB2 is a surveillance and reconnaissance drone that can also be armed with weapons.
Earlier, Ukraine announced its decision to buy five TB2s from Turkey next year following the completion of an October tactical military exercise in which the drones were field-tested for reconnaissance, Turkish website Daily Sabah reported citing Ukrainian website Armiya Inform.
Ukraine and Turkey are also forming a joint venture to manufacture around four dozen of these drones in Ukraine, the general director of Ukraine’s state-owned defense manufacturer, Ukrspetsexport, said in an interview with online publication Left Bank.
Before that, in early October, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said his country is negotiating to buy the Turkish UAV, even though the European nation had already seen the arrival of Chinese CH-92A armed drones in July.
“We will see whether we will reach an agreement with the Turkish side. In any case, these are very good drones. I have to give the Turkish manufacturers their due,” Vucic told reporters at the Palace of Serbia in the capital Belgrade.
TB2s currently have active roles in Libya and Azerbaijan.