JAKARTA - Russia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are said to have expressed interest in cooperating with Turkey on the development of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), in a report last week.
Russian President Vladimir Putin reportedly told Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan his country is interested in cooperating with Baykar, the developer of Turkey's most famous combat drone, the Bayraktar TB2.
This was reportedly discussed at a meeting of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) on Monday evening last week, as reported by Daily Sabah July 26.
The news is surprising, given the fact that the Bayraktar TB2 UAV actually gained notoriety, having successfully destroyed a wide range of Russian military equipment from air defense missiles to howitzers and tanks.
These special drones were used against Russian equipment and Russian-backed forces in neighboring Syria, as well as in Libya and Karabakh. Now actively used by the Ukrainian army against the Russian military, it is making headlines about how successful drones are in hunting down enemy forces.
It is known, the Ukrainian fighters even made a hit song containing swearing mocking Russian troops, by inserting the lyrics "Bayraktar, Bayraktar."
Recently, Baykar CEO Haluk Bayraktar, answering CNN International's question about whether they would sell the Bayraktar TB2 to Russia, said they haven't supplied anything to Russia and "they haven't done anything like that."
"We support Ukraine's struggle for independence and sovereignty," he said.
He added that the Bayraktar TB2 drone had become a symbol of the Ukrainian resistance and they were proud to be a part of this.
Meanwhile, President Erdogan reportedly also said another offer came from the UAE. He said that the UAE offered to set up a Baykar plant in the Gulf state.
To note, the TB2 drone purchased by more than 20 countries is a combat drone with a wingspan of 12 meters (40 feet). It has the ability to fly up to 25,000 feet before swooping down to destroy tanks and artillery with laser-guided armor-piercing bombs.
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