Kyrgyzstan is becoming the latest buyer of renowned Turkish combat drones in an effort to rev up its defense industry capabilities, a senior official announced late Thursday.
Kamchybek Tashiev, the deputy prime minister of Kyrgyzstan and chairperson of the State Committee for National Security, said they placed an order to buy Turkish drone magnate Baykar-made Bayraktar TB2 unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs).
The Central Asian nation will be taking the delivery of the drones soon, Tashiev told reporters.
“We purchase military equipment to boost our troops. The relevant funds have been already allocated from the budget. Turkey is currently constructing Bayraktar drones for us,” he noted.
Noting that a limited number of countries in the world possess Turkish armed drones, Tashiev said “Kyrgyzstan will be one of them.”
The Bayraktar TB2 is a medium-altitude long-endurance aerial vehicle capable of remotely controlled or autonomous flight operations. It is manufactured by one of the leading Turkish defense companies Baykar.
“The drones will soon arrive in our country,” Tashiev said. He noted that Bishkek also purchased Orlan-10 drones from Russia.
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