Kuwait to buy $370 million worth of Turkish Bayraktar UAVs

Türkiye is set to deliver an undisclosed number of Bayraktar TB2 armed drones to Kuwait in a contract worth $370 million, TRT World reports, citing the Turkish defence firm Baykar.

Baykar won in competition with large firms from the US, Europe and China, in the tender going on since 2019.

“Bayraktar TB2 armed drones had great success in its last demo flight in July 2019 in Kuwait. In difficult geographical and climatic conditions such as high temperatures and sandstorms, the drone flew in the air for 27 hours and three minutes, a first for the Turkish company. The drone also reportedly broke its record for staying in the air then,” Baykar said in a statement.

According to the statement, with the Kuwait purchase, the number of countries that signed contracts for the Bayraktar TB2 increased to 28. Since the beginning of the UAV R&D (Research and Development) process in 2003, Baykar has earned 75 per cent of all its revenues from exports.

Meanwhile, the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TIM) said that Baykar became the export leader of the defence and aerospace industry in 2021.

Baykar, whose export rate was 99.3 per cent in the contracts signed in 2022, reported $1.18 billion in revenue.