Saudi Arabia signs major order for Turkish drones

[dani191]

Saudi Arabia signs major order for Turkish drones​

By Elisabeth Gosselin-Malo
Jul 18, 04:11 PM

Baykar's Akinci combat drone is on display at the SAHA defense expo in Istanbul in October 2022. (Elisabeth Gosselin-Malo/Staff photo)
MILAN — Saudi Arabia is set to give a boost to Turkey’s struggling economy through a major drone contract negotiated with Turkish firm Baykar, one that the company’s CEO is calling the biggest sale between the two countries in Turkish defense history.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan embarked last week on a Gulf tour amid an ongoing financial crisis in Turkey, with the country’s currency plunging in value and inflation skyrocketing.

The first stop on Erdogan’s agenda was Jeddah, where he attended alongside Saudi’s ruler Mohammed bin Salman the signing of a contract between Baykar and the Saudi Ministry of Defense for the purchase of Akinci combat drones.
Bakyar CEO Haluk Bayraktar declined to comment on the total contract value and number of systems acquired, citing customer preference.
“What I can say is that it represents the biggest deal signed with Saudi Arabia in Turkish defense history in a single contract,” he told Defense News. Bayraktar added that the company’s flagship product, the TB2 drone, was not part of the deal.

The latest order makes Saudi Arabia the third confirmed Gulf operator of Turkish Baykar drones after Qatar and Kuwait. The latter announced last month it signed a contract worth $367 million for TB2s.
Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman stated in a tweet on July 18 that the country will acquire the systems “with the aim of enhancing the readiness of the Kingdom’s armed forces and bolstering its defense and manufacturing capabilities.”
Bayraktar said there are plans to carry out some of the production of the Akincis locally.
The deal represents a turn-around between the two countries who have often been at odds in the last decade, following Turkish support to Qatar during the 2017 diplomatic crisis and Erdogan joining Western powers in blaming the Saudi government, and Mohammed bin Salman specifically, for the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.
Erdogan will also visit Qatar and the UAE during his Gulf visit.

Saudi Arabia signs major order for Turkish drones

Baykar CEO Haluk Bayraktar was mum on the contract value, but called the deal the biggest ever defense contract between the two countries.

www.defensenews.com

 

[Yawm al-qiyāma]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1681221780713734144

https://twitter.com/x/status/1681224671667126272

https://twitter.com/x/status/1681187533466550272

https://twitter.com/x/status/1681245900117606401

 

[khansaheeb]

How times have changed.

 

[mulj]

this is just the beginning of much more contracts for various armament, Saudis are escaping from stringed weapon deals, this has potential to be multiplied by 10 at least in next couple of years.

 

[dani191]

maybe in the future israel will also sell weapons to saudies

 

[Ghostkiller]

maybe in the future israel will also sell weapons to saudies

Very hard honestly. KSA would have done it during Trump's era where Trump and MBS were very closed friend and could have entered in the Abraham Accord in 2020 but in the end, what happened? MBS didn't sign it.

 

[Azadkashmir]

erdogan goes saudi get contracts. showbaz goes saudi gets into position to polish saud shoes for money.