Baykar, Kuwait finalise multimillion dollar Bayraktar drone deal

Turkish drone magnate Baykar has finalised an export contract worth $367 million with the Kuwaiti government on Bayraktar TB2 unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs), the company and the Kuwaiti army announced on June 13.

"We have successfully completed the contract process with the Government of Kuwait on the export of domestically made Bayraktar TB2 UCAVs," Baykar said in a statement posted on Twitter, according to Daily Sabah.

The statement added that the drone, which has broken a record by flying continuously for 27 hours and three minutes in difficult geographical and climatic conditions such as high temperatures and sandstorms, will be on duty in Kuwaiti airspace.

Meanwhile, both statements did not reveal how many drones would be delivered to Kuwait or when.

The State of Kuwait would be the 28th country in the world to conclude a contract for the Bayraktar TB2 drones.

The negotiations between Baykar and the Kuwaiti Ministry of Defense started in 2019.

The country chose Türkiye’s domestically developed, battle-proven UCAV which made a name for itself after being used in several conflicts from Syria to Ukraine, over competitive products of several companies from the U.S., Europe and China.

Since the beginning of the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) related research and development (R&D) studies in 2003, Baykar has earned 75% of all its revenues from exports.