Armed drones from Turkey gave Ukraine an advantage in the early months of the war. The Turkish manufacturer Baykar is now turning to Germany, which has now allowed the arming of unmanned aerial vehicles. Company boss Bayraktar is now putting pressure on.
The boss of the leading Turkish combat drone manufacturer Baykar has demanded that Germany be more willing to cooperate in the defense industry. "We have very solid relationships in other sectors. In defence, mutual action must be taken. Both sides would benefit from that," said Haluk Bayraktar. Germany is very "limited" when it comes to defense technology. "Any concerns about Turkey should be dispelled."
The Baykar company produces, among other things, the well-known combat drone Bayraktar TB2, which was used by Ukraine in the fight against Russia and previously by Azerbaijan in the war against Armenia, in Syria or in Libya. Overall, the drone has already been exported to 24 countries, said Bayraktar.
Baykar is also currently building a facility for the production of combat drones and unmanned combat aircraft in Ukraine, which Bayraktar says should start operating next year. Bayraktar dismissed concerns about the increased use of combat drones. "The decision-makers decide whether they are used in a good or bad way. Drone technology offers surveillance technology to precisely attack targets. This is not the case with conventional technology."
In Germany, the use of drones has been discussed for years. It was not until spring that the Bundestag gave the green light to arm drones and thus not only use them as a reconnaissance system. In 2020, Turkey received war weapons from Germany for 344.6 million euros. Arms deals with the NATO member are controversial, partly because of the invasion of northern Syria in 2019. In this context, the Greens had called for a complete stop in arms exports.
