Turkish drones Bayraktar TB-2, which gained fame after being used by Ukraine in warfare, are now part of the military arsenal of the Kosovo Security Force. The purchase of these unmanned aerial vehicles was confirmed by Prime Minister Albin Kurti on his Facebook account some two weeks ago.
Kurti did not disclose the exact number of drones acquired by Kosovo, but he mentioned that the government bought them from Turkey. The procurement of military equipment from Turkey will continue in the future as well.
The signal for this came from the Minister of Defense Armend Mehaj, after meetings in Turkey with the President of the Turkish defense industry Haluk Görgün, and the CEO of Baykar Haluk Bayraktar.
Mehaj described the purchase of Bayraktar drones as one of the largest investments in the military in recent years. He emphasized that state-to-state purchases from Turkey have been productive, faster, and more secure.
Regarding the investments in the military arsenal, the Ministry of Defense also confirmed that they continue to coordinate with strategic partners and follow NATO standards.
Turkish Ambassador to Kosovo Sabri Tunç Angılı confirmed that the arrival of the Bayraktar TB-2 drones in Kosovo was a result of a bilateral agreement and not a donation.
The Turkish diplomat stated that Turkey is a strategic partner of Kosovo, and they collaborate not only in the defense sector but also in the economic sphere.
As for the deployment of the drones, KFOR, the NATO peacekeeping mission, issued a statement reminding Kosovo that they are the primary authority for the country’s airspace.
They clarified that the upper airspace can be used only for commercial flights flying over Kosovo from one country to another, and the lower airspace requires authorization from the KFOR commander.
Previously, Kosovo’s interest in purchasing the famous Turkish drones was revealed by the Minister of Regional Development Fikrim Damka in an interview in December last year. He mentioned that the country is considering acquiring Bayraktar drones and that the purchase process would be a long-term one, stressing that any arms purchases would be solely for defense purposes.
President Vjosa Osmani had visited the Baykar company in Turkey in February 2022, but the news of the potential drone purchase was not mentioned in the statement about her visit.
The Bayraktar TB2 drone, developed by Selçuk Bayraktar, has been in operation since 2014 and is often compared to Elon Musk in terms of its innovative design and presence on social media. Bayraktar, the head of technology at Baykar Defense, married the daughter of the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in 2016.
The Bayraktar TB2 drone can stay in the air for up to 27 hours thanks to a simple helicopter engine and can fly up to 150 kilometers from its base. It is equipped with four “smart micro munition” missiles, capable of precisely destroying armored vehicles from several kilometers away.
This type of TB2 drone is used by several countries’ armed forces and was sent to Ukraine to support Kyiv’s efforts in countering the Russian invasion.
While the exact price of a Bayraktar TB2 has not been disclosed, earlier this year, a fundraiser was organized to buy such drones for Ukraine, and the organizers suggested that 5 million euros would be sufficient to acquire one drone.
