MERSIN, Turkey \u2014 Turkmenistan unveiled for the first time its Bayraktar TB2 combat drones during a Sept. 27 military parade marking the country\u2019s 30th anniversary of independence from the Soviet Union.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Imagery of the drone from the parade was tweeted by its Turkish manufacturer, Baykar Defense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a first for the country, this year\u2019s military parade was held in the southern Ashgabat foothills of the Kopetdag mountain range rather than in the city center near the presidential palace. A range of new military equipment was on exhibit during the parade, including Brazilian A-29 Super Tucano attack aircraft, Italian C-27J Spartan transport planes and Turkmen M-346 fighters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The TB2 on display was armed with MAM-L and MAM-C munitions, manufactured by Turkish firm Roketsan, and the Argos-II HD\/HDT camera system by Germany\u2019s Hensoldt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Turkmenistan imported defense and aerospace materiel from Turkey in July 2021 for $37 million, but the products were not revealed by officials. The imagery confirms the sale of the TB2 system to Turkmenistan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During a presentation at Teknofest, an aerospace and technology event that took place Sept. 21-26 in Istanbul, Turkey, Baykar\u2019s chief technology officer, Sel\u00e7uk Bayraktar, said the company had exported the TB2<\/a> to four countries so far, with 10 more to come, and that contracts with these countries are signed or nearly complete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Qatar received six Bayraktar TB2s in 2019, following a 2018 order. Ukraine also procured<\/a> six TB2s, after which Azerbaijan added the drone type to its armed forces, which played an important role in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Baykar also recently inked a contract with the Polish government<\/a> for the supply of TB2s, representing the first time the company is providing the drone to a NATO member country. Turkmenistan is the fifth known state to have increased the number of TB2s in its military inventory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Furthermore, the separate visits to Baykar Defense facilities by the Latvian defense minister and the Albanian internal affairs minister in June 2021 aroused speculation about these countries\u2019 interest in TB2 technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Turkmenistan has expanded its acquisitions of ammunition and military equipment from Turkey over the last decade. It has purchased patrol boats, fast-attack crafts, hydrographic vessels, and search and rescue vessels from Turkey since 2010. In August, Turkmenistan added the 91-meter Deniz Khan corvette, built by Turkey\u2019s Dearsan shipyard, to its fleet, which will assume flagship of the Turkmen Navy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n