Morocco receives 1st Turkish Bayraktar TB2 delivery: Reports

Morocco has received the first units of Turkey’s Bayraktar TB2 unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs)…

****

The Royal Moroccan Armed Forces (FAR) ordered a total of 13 such drones, according to the reports.

****

The deal comes during regional tensions and at a time the Maghreb country – heavily dependent on United States armament – has been modernizing its army….

While the North African country has previously used drones for surveillance purposes, recent developments and agreements show that it might ready the air force to use combat drones in air-to-ground operations.

In April, a Moroccan army drone was operated as part of an airstrike against Polisario Front operatives in the Western Sahara region….

****

In Syria, this particular drone operating in cooperation with other air force elements, namely fighter jets and with the support of electronic warfare (EW) elements, caused a heavy blow to Bashar Assad regime elements, destroying military gear from howitzers to Russian-made air defense systems in Idlib province in February-March 2020.

In Nagorno-Karabakh, they helped the Azerbaijani army to retake its lands…further contributing to its worldwide fame.

They also gave decisive air support to Turkey’s ally in Libya and successfully guided airstrikes that assassinated senior leaders of the PKK [including in Iraq]…over the last two years.

The Bayraktar TB2 has been sold to countries including Ukraine [for use in its war in the Donbass], Qatar, Azerbaijan and Poland. In May, Poland became the first European Union and NATO member state to acquire drones from Turkey.

Saudi Arabia is also said to have been interested in buying Turkish drones. Latvia also hinted that it could be the second European Union and NATO member state to acquire the Turkish UCAVs. Albania is also interested in striking a deal to procure Bayraktar TB2s.