Turkey as a Drone Superpower

By Karen Kaya

Distribution A: Approved for public release

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1199KB

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PDF

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Page Count:

9

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  • Turkey has emerged as a drone superpower on the world stage. In just the past few years,
    Turkey has become one of a select group of countries in the world that can produce, use
    and export armed drones extensively, trailing only the United States, Israel, and China.
  • Turkey’s innovative use of its cost-effective Bayraktar TB-2 drone involves using drone
    squadrons effectively as a mobile air artillery, thereby achieving overmatch by emphasizing
    quantity over quality. This strategy has impacted geopolitical outcomes in several regional
    conflicts, and has provided a strategy for middle sized powers to emulate. Several such
    powers—including Ukraine, Poland, Azerbaijan—are buying these cost-effective systems
    from Turkey with a view to do so. Other midsize countries with limited defense budgets
    are likely to replicate this approach, changing the nature of local conflicts and even the
    calculations of larger observing nations.
  • Drones and anti-aircraft technologies that merge ISR with strike capabilities will increasingly
    impact the trajectories of conflicts. The entry barriers to these technologies are falling,
    making it easier for geopolitical issues to turn to war.
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