Is Poland on Way to Acquiring Turkish Bayraktar Drones?

Speculation is rife that Poland may acquire Turkish attack drones following a Tweet by Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak in which he said, “Good news is coming soon ... stay tuned,” accompanied  by the photograph Bayraktar TB2 UAV.

Poland has so far not made any official proposal to buy Turkish Drones. However, Turkey’s Industry and Technology Minister Mustafa Varank earlier Wednesday said the Turkish drones were set for the “European market.”

He was speaking at the 3rd Defense Industry Meetings, organized by the Istanbul Chamber of Industry and the SAHA Istanbul Defense and Aerospace Cluster. “Very soon we will see the Bayraktar and Anka UAVs from Turkey flying in the European skies,” he said.

Turkey, being a NATO member can export military equipment to fellow-NATO countries without extensive import-export permissions required if the export were to be to outside the military alliance. 

Turkish drones have attracted attention after their excellent performance  in the wars in Libya and Armenia-Azerbaijan where  they defeated air defense systems and attacked radar and other installations.

Compared to attack drones made by the U.S. and some Western European nations, Turkish drones are economical to buy and use. This combined with battle-proven performance, makes them an attractive buy.