Niger Receives 6 Turkish Armed Drones To Boost War Against Terror Groups
The delivery of the Turkish built Bayraktar TB2 drones will expand Niger's anti-terror operations.
The Government of the Niger Republic has reportedly received six Turkish built Bayraktar TB2 armed drones as part of the country’s defence contract with Turkey in 2021.
According to a Radio France Internationale Media report, the Bayraktar TB2 drones were recently delivered to Niamey airport as part of the first batch of equipment related to an arms contract signed in Nov. 2021. The agreement includes light aircraft and armoured vehicles.
The medium altitude long endurance (MALE) drone equipped to deploy laser-guided bombs has gained international attention due to its role in the ongoing war in Ukraine and the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenian in addition to its use in Libya and Syria.
The Bayraktar TB2 will expand the Nigerien Air Force surveillance and precision air-strike capabilities against Islamic State and the al-Qaeda-affiliated groups operating around the tri-border with Mali and Burkina Faso as well as the Lake Chad axis bordering Chad and Nigeria.
There are also reports that Nigeria is in the process of acquiring Turkish drones. However, the variants and numbers remain unknown.
Last month, Ali Ndume, the Chairman of the Nigerian Senate Committee on the Army, disclosed that pilots were training on deploying Turkish drones.
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