Baykar has signed a contract worth $370 million with the government of Kuwait for an undisclosed number of Bayraktar TB2 drones.
“Baykar started 2023 year with an export contract of $370 million signed with the Kuwait Ministry of Defense,” the manufacturer said in a statement released on January 19, 2023.
Negotiations between the parties have been ongoing since July 2019, after the TB2 made its successful demo flight in Kuwait. During the event, the drone demonstrated its technical capabilities to operate in difficult geographical and climatic conditions, including high temperatures and sandstorms. The flight, which took 27 hours and three minutes, was the longest TB2 operation so far.
According to the Turkish defense manufacturer, at least 28 countries currently have signed agreements for their drones.
“Baykar won out in competition with significant firms from America, Europe, and China, in the (bidding) process going on since 2019,” the statement reads.
The Bayraktar TB2 drone has recently featured in multiple recent armed conflicts, such as Syria, Libya, and Azerbaijan. The unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) also has also been utilized in Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, proving itself as an attractable solution to destroy more critical assets, such as armored vehicles, anti-aircraft systems, or even tanks.
The drone was credited for helping to sink the Russian missile cruiser Moskva and bombing Russian anti-air defense systems on Snake Island.