Kosovo on Sunday announced the purchase of a batch of pioneering Turkish-made armed drones, in what comes when the Balkan country faces unrest in the north where ethnic Serbs refuse to recognize the Pristina authorities.
In a Facebook post, photographed in front of a Bayraktar TB2 unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV), Prime Minister Albin Kurti said the latest security spending was making the country safer.
"We have added the Bayraktar TB2 UAVs, which we purchased from Türkiye as a state, to our army's inventory!" said Kurti, posing in front of the Kosovo-flagged drone along with Defense Minister Armend Mehaj and Kosovo Security Force (KSF) Commander Bashkim Jashari.
He did not give the number or the cost of the drones, Kosovo's first, nor say what they would be used for.
Developed by the Turkish drone magnate Baykar, the battle-proven unmanned combat aerial vehicle has made a name for itself globally. International demand for TB2 drones soared after they featured in conflicts in Syria, Libya and Azerbaijan and interest in them increased further following their use by Ukraine's military to thwart Russian forces.
Baykar has signed deals to sell the drone to at least 30 countries to date. It lastly signed a contract worth $367 million with Kuwait for TB2s last month.
"Kosovo is now even safer and always proud," Kurti said, adding that his government had raised troop numbers by 80% in the last two years and the defense budget by over 100%.
"Kosovo is now even safer!" the prime minister said.
The 15-old republic is building an army intended eventually to have 5,000 regular soldiers and 3,000 reservists. The NATO military alliance also has over 4,500 peacekeepers in the country of 1.8 million people.
In past months, Kosovo has faced its worst ethnic violence in the north which is home to some 50,000 ethnic Serbs, who are backed by Belgrade.
Trouble erupted in May after ethnic Albanian mayors took office following a local election boycotted by Serbs demanding implementation of a decade-old deal for more autonomy.
Kosovo aims to join NATO, but four of the alliance's members still do not recognize its 2008 independence from Serbia.
After the violence in May, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic placed his army on combat alert and moved units closer to the border with Kosovo.
