Turkey expands armed drone sales to Ethiopia and Morocco - sources
14/10/2021 10:56
* Demand for weapons grows after Turkish military successes
* Exports rose to Ethiopia, Morocco in recent months
* Drone shipments to Ethiopia could upset Egypt
* Relations between Egypt and Turkey already strained
By Orhan Coskun, Jonathan Spicer and Ece Toksabay
ANKARA, Oct 14 (Reuters) - Turkey has expanded its exports
of armed drones by negotiating sales deals with Morocco and
Ethiopia after their successful use in international conflicts,
according to four sources familiar with the agreements.
Any drone shipments to Ethiopia risk stoking friction in
already strained relations between Ankara and Cairo, which is at
odds with Addis Ababa over a hydropower dam https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/un-council-urges-egypt-ethiopia-sudan-restart-dam-talks-2021-09-15
on the Blue Nile. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2QH37R
Two Egyptian security sources said Cairo had asked the
United States and some European nations to help it freeze any
deal. A third Egyptian source said any agreement would have to
be raised and clarified in talks between Cairo and Ankara https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/turkey-egypt-pledge-further-talks-normalise-ties-after-2nd-round-2021-09-08
as they try to repair ties urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2QA42Q.
Turkey, Ethiopia and Morocco have not formally announced any
armed drone deals but several sources familiar with the
arrangements provided details to Reuters.
One Turkish official said Ethiopia and Morocco had both
requested purchases of Bayraktar TB2 drones in agreements that
could also include spare-part guarantees and training.
A diplomat who requested anonymity said separately that
Morocco had received the first batch of armed drones it ordered
in May. Ethiopia plans to acquire them but the status of that
order is less clear, the envoy said.
The sources did not say how many drones were involved in the
deals or provide financial details.
Ukraine and Turkey's NATO partner Poland have also ordered
armed drones, which military experts say are cheaper than market
rivals made in Israel, China and the United States.
Official data show Turkey's defence and aviation exports
rose sharply to Morocco and Ethiopia in the past two months but
do not provide details of drone sales.
Ethiopia's military and the prime minister's office did not
respond to requests for comment on the matter.
Morocco's government was not immediately available to
comment. Its military does not discuss procurements publicly.
Turkey's top defence procurement and development body did
not immediately respond to a written request for comment.
Drone-maker Bayraktar, whose TB2 model was designed by President
Tayyip Erdogan's son-in-law, also did not respond to a request
for comment.
SUCCESSFUL DEPLOYMENT
The growing interest in armed drones is a boost for the
Turkish government at it tries to increase exports to help ease
its economic problems https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/eye-polls-turkeys-erdogan-may-regret-rate-cut-he-pushed-2021-10-04,
and underlines the growing importance of armed drones in modern
warfare. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2R965P
The Turkish military used drones last year in Syria as well
as in Libya https://www.reuters.com/article/libya-security-idUSL5N2CB738,
where Ankara backed the Tripoli-based government against
eastern forces supported by Russia, the United Arab Emirates and
Egypt. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2QX0J7
In Nagorno-Karabakh, the drones helped Turkey's ally
Azerbaijan defeat Armenia-backed forces. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2H505N
Defence and aviation exports to Ethiopia rose to $51 million
in the first three months of this year, from $203,000 in the
same period last year, with a jump in August and September,
according to the Turkish Exporters Assembly.
Exports to Morocco were $78.6 million in the same period -
with $62 million in September alone - compared to $402,000 last
year
Some media in Morocco have reported the arrival of armed
drones from Turkey.
A Facebook page that identifies itself as an unofficial
Moroccan military forum reported last month that the first TB2
drones from an order of 13 had arrived from Turkey, and that the
armed forces had sent officers to Turkey for pilot training.
Overall Turkish defence and aviation exports totalled $2.1
billion in the first three quarters of this year, up 39% from
$1.5 billion last year, according to the Turkish Exporters
Assembly.
(Additional reporting by Aidan Lewis in Cairo and Ahmed
Eljechtimi in Rabat; Writing by Jonathan Spicer; Editing by
Timothy Heritage)
((jonathan.spicer@reuters.com; Reuters Messaging:
jonathan.spicer.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net
@jonathanspicer))