Ankara’s promotion of its UAVs on the African arms market played a major role in strengthening Turkish influence on the continent. The Bayraktar TB2 model, which, with a wingspan of 12 metres and a flight time of 27 hours, carrying 4 laser-guided missiles, has become not only a symbol of Turkish weaponry in many parts of the world, but has also become an effective tool of Turkish foreign policy.

Not least of these successes is due to the fact that one of the heads of Baykar Makina, the firm that produces these drones, is President Erdoğan’s son-in-law Selçuk Bayraktar, a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, whose father was its creator.

The attractiveness of Turkish drones in the eyes of African buyers is due to the fact that they have already demonstrated their high technical performance in a number of combat areas, including in Africa.

In Libya in 2019, the armed forces of the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord used these drones to stop Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar’s troops from advancing on the Libyan capital in less than 10 days and then forcing them to retreat after a year-long siege of the city. At the same time, the fighters of the already mentioned Turkish PMC Sadat were engaged in targeting these vehicles.

Apart from their high efficiency, these drones are relatively easy to operate and much cheaper than some Western designs. For example, the Bayraktar TB2 costs around $5 million, while the US MQ-9 Reaper costs $20 million and the more advanced US Protector RG Mk1 costs 28 million. Unlike other low-cost models, such as the Chinese Wing Loong, Turkish models are in higher demand.

Turkey strengthens its geopolitical interests with drones

The supply of drones, as well as aircraft, often leads to longer-term partnerships with buyers. This is due to the provision of spare parts, ammunition, training for maintenance personnel and other technical assistance.

As experts at the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security note, Ankara, based solely on its pragmatic interests, is behaving like a traditional Turkish merchant in Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar, who tries his best to please the customer and turn him into a regular........

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