Iraq mulls buying Turkish drones, helicopters, military hardware

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan makes a speech during delivery and graduation ceremony for Bayraktar Akinci, unmanned combat aerial vehicle, at Corlu Airport Base on August 29, 2021 in Tekirdag, Turkey [Murat Kula/Anadolu Agency]

Iraqi Defence Minister, Juma Inad, said his country has expressed interest in buying Turkish-made unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs), helicopters and military hardware.

In an interview with local Al-Sharqiya TV channel, the minister said the Turkish military industries are advanced and Iraq wants to benefit from them.

According to Inad, Baghdad is interested in buying Turkish Bayraktar TB2 UCAV, 12 individual T129 Tactical Reconnaissance and Attack Helicopters (ATAK) and has sent a “request to buy” six of Turkey’s Koral electronic warfare systems.

On Thursday, Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar met with his Iraqi counterpart and discussed defence and security issues as well as bilateral and regional cooperation.

READ: Turkey among top 3 countries in world in combat drone technology

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