Azerbaijan recently unveiled a training facility and hangar for a new Akinci drone, confirming its acquisition for the first time.
It is Baku’s second Turkish drone acquisition, following the Bayraktar TB2 in 2020.
Azerbaijan quietly bought the Baykar drone without revealing purchase details.
#AKINCI’lar kardeş topraklardaki yeni yuvalarında… ✈️🐳🚀
Azerbaycan’da Bayraktar #AKINCI hangarının açılışını ve teslimat törenini gerçekleştirdik.
Birliğimiz daim olsun… 🇦🇿🇹🇷#AKINCI'lar qardaş torpaqlarda yeni yuvalarında… ✈️🐳🚀
Azərbaycandə Bayraktar #AKINCI… pic.twitter.com/leFVpf8Wva
— Selçuk Bayraktar (@Selcuk) February 9, 2024
Turkish Drone Production in Azerbaijan
Baykar CEO Haluk Bayraktar said in 2022 that three countries were interested in buying the Akinci drone, which was first delivered to the Turkish military in August 2021.
According to the company, the first group of Azeri pilots completed their training for the drone in October 2022.
In April 2023, Baykar and Azerbaijan signed a memorandum of understanding for drone production in the country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and West Asia.
Akinci Features
The drone offers greater features than the TB2, including a takeoff weight of up to 6,000 kilograms (12,228 pounds) compared to the TB2′s 700 kilograms (1,543 pounds).
Its payload of around 1,500 kilograms (3,307 pounds) is almost 10 times the TB2’s, and its stated range of 7,500 kilometers (4,660 miles) is many times the latter’s 150 kilometers (93 miles).
Additional features include a service ceiling of 40,000 feet (12,192 meters) and an endurance of 26 hours.
Moreover, it can be armed with a range of ammunition and missiles, including the MAM –L, MAM-C, Cirit, L-UMTAS, Bozok, SOM-A, and the Mark 81/82/83 bomb series.
“The advantage of this [unmanned aerial vehicle] is that it is more maneuverable and has the ability to destroy the target at a longer distance,” Azernews quoted military expert Ramil Mammadli as saying.
“It also flies at a higher altitude, and also, certain technological advantages allow this UAV to avoid air defense systems of the enemy.”
