Poland to Become First NATO Member to Buy Turkey’s Bayraktar Drones Used in Azeri-Armenian War
Poland is expected to become the first NATO member to purchase Turkish-made unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) after Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak revealed plans for the country to buy 24 drones.
The first batch of Bayraktar TB2 drones is due to be delivered next year and will be armed with anti-tank projectiles. Poland will also be purchasing a logistics and training package.
The contract will be signed next week during Polish President Andrzej Duda’s visit to Turkey, circumventing the usual procurement process accompanying such a deal.
Turkey Becomes World’s Fourth-Largest Drone Producer
Turkey is an emerging player in the drone industry, with Reuters reporting it has become the world’s fourth-largest drone producer since President Recep Tayyip Erdogan increased domestic production.
This move is widely seen as an effort to reduce the country’s reliance on Western arms and grow manufacturing exports amid recent economic woes.
Interest in Turkish drones increased particularly late last year, when Turkish drones helped Azerbaijan retake territory from ethnic Armenian separatists lost in the mountains of Nagorno Karabakh decades ago.
Aside from Poland, the Turkish defense technology company Baykar has sold previous models of the Bayraktar armed drone to countries such as Azerbaijan, Ukraine, Qatar, Libya, Tunisia, and Morocco. Last March, Erdogan mentioned that Saudi Arabia also expressed interest in buying Turkish drones.
Source: The Defense Post
Poland will buy 24 Bayraktar TB2 drones from the private Baykar company, which has also exported the TB2 model to Ukraine, Qatar and Azerbaijan.
Turkish drones have gained in popularity since the hardware was deployed in Syria, Libya and Azerbaijan during conflicts that were prominently covered around the world.
Erdoğan also said Turkish F-16 jets would “soon” be sent to Poland to assist NATO’s Baltic Air Policing operation. Poland earlier deployed a marine patrol aircraft and a military mission to Turkey’s Incirlik Base, where Duda will also visit Tuesday.
Duda described Turkey as Warsaw’s “strongest ally” in its region, saying he believes that the two countries can fend off outside threats from within NATO’s framework. The Polish president also said that Erdoğan was very positive on his offer to establish a trilateral dialogue including their Romanian counterpart, saying both Poland and Romania are part of the Bucharest Nine security group.
Source: Daily Sabah
and this is how Erdougan repays Putin for saving him. Putin should really rethinks his “relationship” with Erdougan.
Hmm.. Do you think that V Putin & Sergey Shoygu are loosing sleep over it ??
Jan Sobieski will be rolling in his grave.
turks will educate poles so that fewer than 5 can change a lightbulb
Turkey is dancing on too many weddings. Their main goal is to re-establish their new Ottoman Empire.
Buying Russian S400 to be independend from Patriot missles.
Europe as a market for Turkish products and sending Turks as a vanguard.
Supporting Qatar, taking their money to protect tem from the Saudis.
Supporting with Saudis Islamists in Syria and Iraq etc.
Poland is a useful idiot and willing aide.They hate Russia so much, that they even work with the devil in disguise.
In two or three generations Poland will understand its mistake, when in the West and in South West Russia are on a Halal/Haram trip.