Kyrgyz, Azerbaijani Military Complete Training on Bayraktar Akinci UCAV Operation

Turkey’s Baykar has completed training of Kyrgyz and Azerbaijani servicemen on how to operate Bayraktar Akinci combat drones.

"Congratulations to all Turkish, Azerbaijani and Kyrgyz interns who have completed training and successfully completed their studies, they will serve their country together with Bayraktar Akinci," the Turkish company was quoted as saying in a statement by media reports.

The first Turkish Bayraktar TB2 strike UAVs entered service with the Border Service of the State Committee for National Security (GKNB) of Kyrgyzstan in December 2021. On March 31 last year, military exercises using drones were held in the Issyk-Kul region of the country. President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Japarov opened a UAV base in September. A month later, the head of the State Committee for National Security of the country, Kamchybek Tashiev, announced that Kyrgyzstan had purchased Bayraktar Akinci attack drones from Turkey. The head of the press service of the presidential administration of Kyrgyzstan, Daiyrbek Orunbekov, stated on his page on the social network this January that the country also purchased Anka and Aksungur drones from Turkey.

Kyrgyzstan became the first Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) country to purchase Turkish UAVs.