TSAMTO, May 27. According to information published on May 25 by the French RFI resource, the Niger Armed Forces received 6 Bayraktar TB2 unmanned aerial vehicles of Turkish production.
The UAVs were delivered to Niamey Airport on May 20 and 21 on two flights aboard an IL-76 aircraft of a Ukrainian company. The transferred Bayraktar TB2 are the first batch of weapons to be delivered to the Niger Armed Forces under the contract signed with Turkey in November 2021.
It is noted that with this purchase, Niger expands the list of partners in the field of combating terrorism. Thus, President Mohamed Bazoum is developing cooperation with Muslim states amid criticism for too close cooperation with France.
As reported by TSAMTO, in November 2021, after a telephone conversation with Mohamed Bazum, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced the sale of Turkish-made military equipment to Niger, including Hurkus light attack aircraft, Bayraktar TB2 UAVs and armored vehicles of an unspecified type.
Bayraktar TB2 will be the first armed UAV in the Armed Forces of Niger. Currently, the Niger Air Force has only two combat aircraft – Su-25 attack aircraft.
During his visit to Turkey in March 2022, the President of Niger Mohamed Bazum visited the Turkish company Baykar Makina to assess the progress of production of the ordered equipment. As it was reported at the time, Niger became the 14th buyer of Bayraktar TB2, and deliveries should begin in the coming months.
Now the armed forces of the African state need to create a system that will allow them to operate new equipment, including training pilots and operators, maintenance of UAVs, and ensuring the supply of spare parts. In addition, the possibility of creating an infrastructure for the deployment of UAVs at one of the air bases is being studied.
According to French experts, the received UAVs will expand the capabilities of the Armed Forces of Niger to conduct reconnaissance in large areas, as well as allow them to hit ground targets. As confirmed by the special operation in Ukraine, Bayraktar TB2 is effective in conducting operations against partisan formations in the absence of air defense systems. In conventional warfare, despite their striking capabilities, UAVs are quickly hit by air defense systems. According to the latest information, since the beginning of the special operation in Ukraine, Russian air defense systems have shot down about 90 Bayraktar TB2 UAVs.
