Albania Orders Bayraktar TB2 Drones

Albania has confirmed the acquisition of Bayraktar TB2 armed drones produced by Turkey’s Baykar.

“We signed an export contract for the BayraktarTB2 armed UAV with Albania,” Baykar posted on its official Twitter account.

The number of countries to which drone has been exported has risen to 27, according to the firm, including NATO member Poland, Qatar, Azerbaijan, Morocco, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan. The company has also signed deals with five countries for exports of its much larger sibling Akıncı.

The three Bayraktar TB2s that Albania has purchased will be ready for action if the country’s national security is threatened but will be used in the meantime to help police, Prime Minister Edi Rama said.

Related article: How Turkey's Bayraktar Drones Became an International Success

Neighboring Kosovo, which is going through an ethnic crisis, is also planning to purchase Bayraktar drones.

Albania’s Prime Minister Edi Rama said the drones will help authorities monitor the Balkan country’s territory, locating cannabis plantations and tracking wildfires.

Some 30 people are expected to be trained to operate the drones, Turkish media reported. They will operate from the Kucova air base, 80 km south of the capital, Tirana. The air base is being renovated to support NATO air supply operations, logistics support, air policing, training and exercises.