Poland received the last batch of six Bayraktar TB2 armed unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) from Turkey last week.
It wraps up the $270-million deal Warsaw struck with the drone manufacturer Baykar in 2021 for four unmanned aircraft systems, each comprising six drones and three ground stations.
The deal also includes depot-level maintenance facilities, including maintenance and repair tools for the engines, ground control stations, and EO/IR sensors, according to The Aviationist.
“Delivered the last system of our Bayraktar TB2 UCAVs to Poland. Thus, for the first time in Turkey’s history, we have successfully completed the export of high-tech UCAVs to [both] a NATO and EU member country,” Baykar CEO Haluk Bayraktar wrote on X.
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The medium-altitude, long-endurance drone features a service ceiling of 25,000 feet (7,620 meters) and an endurance of 27 hours.
It has a range of 4,000 kilometers (2,485 miles) and can be operated remotely from up to 297 kilometers (185 miles).
Its payload capacity is 150 kilograms (330 pounds), including laser-guided bombs and rockets.
Poland’s Weapon Buying Spree
Poland was the first NATO country to order the drone, later procured by other members Romania and Albania.
The Ukrainian military also deployed a handful of TB2s to counter the Russian military earlier in the war.
The delivery takes place as Poland is upgrading its Soviet-era defense equipment in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Sharing its borders with both countries, Warsaw has bought offensive platforms such as the M1 Abrams and K2 Black Panther tanks, and F-35 fighter aircraft.
