TSAMTO, August 31. The leadership of the Iraqi Defense Ministry has expressed interest in buying reconnaissance and attack UAVs, helicopters and other Turkish-made military equipment.
According to the Daily Sabah, speaking on Iraqi television, Iraqi Defense Minister Juma Anad Saadoun said that Iraq "reached a consensus" with Turkey on the purchase of Bayraktar TB2 UAVs developed in this country.
In addition, the minister said that the Iraqi government intends to purchase 12 T129 reconnaissance and attack helicopters (ATAK) and sent a request for the purchase of six Turkish Koral electronic warfare systems.
The minister's statements were made after returning from Turkey, where he visited the international defense exhibition IDEF-2021. During the visit, Juma Anad Saadun met with his Turkish counterpart Hulusi Akar and held meetings with high-ranking representatives of the Turkish defense industry.
According to Juma Anad Saadun, the Iraqi Defense Ministry is now waiting for a response from the Turkish side to the request for the implementation of the above-mentioned projects. The proposals should be received in the near future, after which they will pass the evaluation procedure.
As reported by TSAMTO, the Bayraktar TB2 UAV is designed for conducting reconnaissance, as well as hitting ground targets using guided munitions. The wingspan of the single-engine vehicle is 12 m, the length is 6.5 m. The UAV with a maximum take-off weight of 700 kg can carry high-precision ammunition MAM-L weighing 21.5 kg, MAM-C weighing 7 kg on four underwing suspension nodes, allowing it to hit targets at ranges from 2 to 8 km. The duration of the UAV flight is up to 27 hours, the payload weight is up to 150 kg, the range in the line of sight is up to 150 km, the maximum speed is about 220 km/h. The Bayraktar TB2 is equipped with an avionics kit that provides taxiing, take-off, flight and landing in autonomous mode.
Currently, Bayraktar TB2 has been acquired by the armed forces of Turkey, Azerbaijan, Qatar, Morocco, Poland and Ukraine. According to the manufacturer, their total flight time reached 300 thousand hours. It is also known that the possibility of purchasing Turkish UAVs is being evaluated by the Latvian Armed Forces.
