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DefenceTalk<\/p>\nDefenceTalk<\/p>\n
Whether in Syria, Libya or Azerbaijan, Turkey\u2019s combat drones have scored high-profile successes that Ankara hopes to use in its quest to become a premier exporter of the aerial vehicles.<\/p>\n
Besides their proven ability to take out enemy tanks, analysts said drones also offer Turkey a chance to beef up its spheres of influence through an increasingly assertive foreign policy.<\/p>\n
In Syria, Turkey used armed drones to avenge the deaths of dozens of soldiers and halt the advance of regime forces in the northwestern province of Idlib.<\/p>\n
In Libya, the unmanned craft flew to the aid of Turkey\u2019s allied government in Tripoli, routing the advancing forces of eastern commander Khalifa Haftar at the capital\u2019s gates.<\/p>\n
And late last year, Turkish drones helped Azerbaijan retake swathes of territory from ethnic Armenian separatists that had been lost in the mountains of Nagorno-Karabakh decades ago.<\/p>\n
All these conflicts grabbed world headlines and offered Turkey the perfect opportunity to showcase its hardware, analysts Can Kasapoglu in Istanbul and Emre Caliskan in the UK said, as it tries to become a major military exporter \u2014 particularly of armed drones.<\/p>\n
Ismail Demir, head of Turkey\u2019s Defence Industry Presidency (SSB), told AFP Turkish drones offer good value for money.<\/p>\n
Half the price<\/strong> SSB, which is part of the Turkish presidency, is the umbrella organisation that oversees state defence companies. These include Turkish Aerospace Industries, which makes the Anka combat drone.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were trying to do something we could lead in or could be at the front of in modern technologies, and drones became the perfect area,\u201d Demir said.<\/p>\n The first Turkish combat drones were used in 2016 as the army clashed with Kurdish militants in the country\u2019s restive southeast.<\/p>\n In December, Turkish Aerospace Industries signed the first export contract for the Anka, worth an estimated $80 million, with Tunisia.<\/p>\n But the private Baykar company, run by one of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan\u2019s son-in-laws, has been exporting its Bayraktar TB2 model to Ukraine, Qatar and Azerbaijan for some years.<\/p>\n \u201cExport is an issue (because) our domestic priorities go first. But, of course, a sustainable defence industry requires export,\u201d Demir said.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd there are so many other countries in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, northern Africa and even Europe which are interested in our systems and our drones,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cThey had some visits to Turkey and some of them are evaluating our offers.\u201d<\/p>\n US sanctions<\/strong> Demir played down the sanctions\u2019 impact and insisted that Turkey will be able to produce components and equipment it can no longer obtain from the United States.<\/p>\n \u201cIt may take a little time, it may be a little costly, but we can do this,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n In a highly competitive global market, Demir said some countries \u201cwho are traditionally an exporter\u201d have taken a dim view of Turkey\u2019s rise.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd in any market you want to get in, they will do anything to prevent you,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe only way you can overcome this difficulty is by speaking with your quality, price and performance.\u201d<\/p>\n Stretching 8.6-metres (28-feet) long and featuring a 17.6-metre wingspan, the Anka is manufactured at a sprawling, ultra-secure factory in Ankara covering four million square metres (1,000 acres) and dotted with hangars.<\/p>\n Turkish Aerospace Industries employs almost 10,000 people, including 3,000 engineers.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat makes the Anka special is that most of the parts, important and critical parts, are produced and designed in Turkey,\u201d said Serdar Demir, Turkish Aerospace Industries\u2019 vice president for corporate marketing and communication.<\/p>\n \u201cWe can easily say that the Anka is the most indigenous product and that we do not depend on other countries\u2019 permits.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018Game-changer\u2019<\/strong> \u201cTurkey has had fewer F-16 jet pilots than F-16 jets. Training new F-16 pilots takes up to four years. But drone pilot training is much shorter at nine months,\u201d Caliskan explained.<\/p>\n \u201cTurkey has tried to compensate the capability gap in air forces with the drone technology.\u201d<\/p>\n This strategic shift \u201chas enabled Turkey, even as a middle power, to challenge the interest of top-tier military countries,\u201d said Caliskan.<\/p>\n He added that Turkish drones proved themselves admirably against Russian defence systems in Syria, Libya and Nagorno-Karabakh, becoming a \u201cgame-changer (and) shifting the balance of power\u201d.<\/p>\n Kasapoglu, an analyst with the independent Edam think-tank in Istanbul, said Turkey\u2019s drones were a \u201ckey military power source. And military power is an asset of foreign affairs.\u201d<\/p>\n Drones, Caliskan added, might also aid rapprochement with some of Turkey\u2019s regional rivals.<\/p>\n Erdogan revealed on Tuesday that Saudi Arabia, struggling in its war in Yemen, was looking to buy combat drones from Turkey despite an ongoing rivalry between the two powers for influence in the Middle East.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cIf a system from any other country had the same capability as ours, its (price) would be double,\u201d Demir said in an interview at his office in Ankara, which is filled with models of drones and other military gear.<\/p>\n
\nThe United States banned SSB from receiving new arms export licenses in December and imposed sanctions on Demir himself in retaliation for Turkey\u2019s purchase of Russia\u2019s advanced S-400 missile systems.<\/p>\n
\nEmre Caliskan, an analyst at London-based IHS Markit, an international business information firm, said Turkey\u2019s push into drone development was partially prompted by a failed putsch against Erdogan in 2016, which was followed by sweeping purges that decimated air force ranks.<\/p>\n