Turkey, promoting “Diplomacy of drones,” can soon become the main player in the BPLA market in Central Asia and strengthen its economic and political influence, Forbes writes.
According to the publication, the countries of Central Asia are imported by an “unprecedented” number of military drones since the beginning of the 2020s, including from Turkey, Russia and Iran. Ankara, in particular, exported her well-known Bayraktar Tb2 drone to Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan and reached an agreement with Kazakhstan on the production of drone Anka-S.
According to experts surveyed by Forbes, Turkey will probably take a central place in the drone market in the region, “because for it it is more than just military cooperation.” With the help of “Diplomacy of drones,” the country expects to strengthen political and economic cooperation with members of the organization of Turkic states (Turkey, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan).
Nevertheless, “Diplomacy of drones” is not devoid of risks, in particular, it can provoke the response of China, Russia and Iran, Forbes points out. “Faced with the strong objections of Kyrgyzstan, Turkey could not complete the sale of drones to Tajikistan, who then turned to Iran and signed a deal with Tehran,” said S. Suleiman Lake, senior researcher at the Institute of Politics of Policy.
At the same time, the analyst-research of the Navy Center, Samuel Bendett, noted that sales of TB2 to Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan are a clear sign that “these countries expect to take a share in the Turkish drone market.”
The main export drones of Turkey are Bayraktar TB2 and Bayraktar Akinci manufactured by Baykar Makina. They are equipped with artificial intelligence, capable of launching winged missiles and carrying up to 1350 kg of cargo.