Turkish drones enter fleets across Arab states

WASHINGTON

Turkish-made armed drones are now used or on order across much of the Arab world, extending Türkiye’s defense industry presence from the Gulf to North Africa, according to an analysis published by Forbes.

The Aug. 29 article by contributor Paul Iddon said the Bayraktar TB2, Akıncı, Anka-S and Aksungur had been acquired by countries including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco.

Saudi Arabia and the UAE initially turned to Chinese armed drones after the United States declined to supply them but later moved toward Turkish systems as their relations with Ankara improved, the analysis said.

Saudi Arabia agreed in 2021 to produce Vestel Savunma’s Karayel-SU under license and ordered an undisclosed number of Akıncı drones from Baykar in 2023. The latter agreement, described by Baykar as Türkiye’s largest defense and aviation export contract at the time, includes technology transfer and joint production.

Forbes cited a July 26 announcement by Yemen’s Houthis that they had downed a Saudi-operated Akıncı over the northern province of Al-Jawf. The article said the incident indicated that at least some of the aircraft had entered Saudi service.

It also cited a report that Yemen’s internationally recognized government had reached a drone agreement with Türkiye. Ankara was training Yemeni pilots, although no aircraft had been delivered by late July.

Qatar became the TB2’s first foreign customer in 2018, ordering six aircraft. Kuwait ordered 18 under a $370 million contract in 2023, with deliveries beginning in July 2025. Reports in 2022 said the UAE had ordered 120 TB2s, while Abu Dhabi has also acquired the Akıncı.

In North Africa, Tunisia bought six Anka-S drones in 2020, while Algeria ordered the Anka-S and Aksungur after Türkiye sold TB2s to Morocco. Forbes said Türkiye had also resumed arms sales to Egypt and entered agreements for local drone assembly.

The article also pointed to Turkish drones’ presence on both sides of Libya’s divide. TB2s helped forces aligned with the Tripoli-based government repel Khalifa Haftar’s offensive in 2020, while satellite imagery showed at least two Akıncı drones at the Haftar-controlled Al-Khadim air base in eastern Libya in August.