Kyrgyzstan says it purchased 4 different combat drones from Türkiye
The Anka drone, an unmanned aerial military vehicle developed by Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI), is seen in Ankara, Türkiye, March 5, 2021. (AFP Photo)


Kyrgyzstan has purchased Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI)-made Anka unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV), said the Central Asian country’s Presidential Press Service head, Daiyrbek Orunbekov on Tuesday.

Known to have supplied Baykar-made Bayraktar TB2 and Akıncı UCAVs along with TAI-made Aksungur UCAV before, Kyrgyzstan, with the latest procurement, will now have in its inventory all types of UCAVs produced by TAI and Baykar.

"Kyrgyzstan bought modern military equipment such as Bayraktar TB2, Aksungur, Akıncı and Anka," said Orunbekov.

The Bayraktar TB2 is currently actively used by the Kyrgyz Army.

Akıncı’s procurement was made public in a statement made in October 2022 by the Chairperson of the Kyrgyzstan National Security Committee Kamchybek Tashiev. However, the information that Kyrgyzstan has procured Anka and Aksungur UCAVs was not confirmed until the recent statement by Orunbekov. It is not yet disclosed how many UCAVs have been supplied to Kyrgyzstan by Türkiye.

Türkiye has already signed agreements with more than 30 countries for the export of its domestically developed UCAVs, with the battle-proven Bayraktar TB2 leading the way.

Kyrgyzstan becomes the second country after Türkiye to use the four different UCAVs manufactured by the Turkish defense industry.