Upon Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's visit to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, Istanbul-based defense firm, Baykar, announced that it would sell a number of Bayraktar Akinci high-altitude long-endurance (HALE) drones to the kingdom.

Erdogan landed what was described as the country's largest defense deal.

Baykar drones have been supposedly used in conflict zones all over the world, since Turkey started selling them in 2019, including Ukraine, Nagorno-Karabakh, Libya, Syria, Iraq, Ethiopia, and Somalia. 

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Al-Monitor explained in a report that the Turkish-made drones have so far been sold to 29 countries, while four are in negotiations and seven others have publicly expressed interest in acquiring them, according to the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. On that note, the country has explored unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) agreements with several countries including Saudi, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan. 

Among the countries in the Middle East that purchased the Bayraktar TB2 drones are Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Algeria, Morocco, and Iraq.

What is the Saudis' Akinci agreement?

A nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council in Turkey, Rich Outzen said that the Saudi deal is “extremely significant,” as Turkey's new Akinci drone "was fielded to Turkish forces just last year, and Saudi Arabia will be just the third country besides Turkey to receive them. The Akinci can strike distant targets with precision munitions, including targets designated by other, smaller drones. For potential naval or littoral warfare in the Gulf, this is an important capability."

Kirsten Fontenrose, president of Red-Six International, a global UAV pilot services provider, said that the Akinci is nearly twice as large as the TB2. She explained that the Akinci is more equivalent to a Predator and it will be useful as a surveillance platform, but suggests it could be vulnerable to surface-to-air missiles, which she says the Yemeni Armed Forces have. 

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Fontenrose adds that if the Akincis are for surveillance, "they can fly beyond the range of Houthi [Ansar Allah] SAMs (surface-to-area missiles). If their intent is to eventually arm them with ATGMs (anti-tank guided missiles) on wing hardpoints, it will depend on the range of the ATGM." She believes it would be a suitable aircraft for internal security since the Saudi air force can fly over the desert for extended periods of time and patrol the Red Sea.

Moreover, Outzen said that TB2 has been used by dozens of countries, including to great effect in the early days of the NATO-orchestrated war in Ukraine.

“The number of countries who need the Akincis may be somewhat lower," he said, "but should still number in the dozens within a year or two. Pakistan and Libya already have them. The Emirates and Qatar may be candidates, but Azerbaijan already is. Indonesia and Bangladesh reportedly are interested as well.”

Why are the Bayraktar drones so popular? 

A nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council in Turkey, Rich Outzen, said that there are several reasons for the success and popularity of Bayraktar drones.

The Turks "don't just deliver the aircraft with a quick users' course,” Outzen told Al-Monitor, adding that “They provide long-term training teams, maintenance and supply support, and operational integration with other systems — command and control, other sensors, manned and unmanned ground and air forces."

Turkish forces have recent combat experience with drones, "so their concepts and integrating approach have recency (and brand recognition).” Additionally, Turkish drones are considered cheaper than both US and other Western-made drones, and superior to other non-Western systems, such as UAVs made in China or in Iran.