Military UAV procurement sources are increasingly diversified

2022-11-10

In recent years, UAV, with its advantages of low cost and easy operation, has provided relevant countries with a way to rapidly improve their military capabilities, which has triggered a boom in UAV procurement. Data shows that more than 100 countries around the world have equipped more than 30000 military UAVs. It is worth noting that in the international military UAV market, the trend of diversified procurement sources is increasingly evident. According to foreign media reports, the United Arab Emirates has proposed to purchase 120 "Flagman" TB-2 surveillance drones from Türkiye, and may purchase Israeli drones in the next step. Ethiopia has not only purchased Türkiye's "Flagman" TB-2 UAV, but also Iran's "Phantom" - 6 UAV. From the functional point of view, with the development of technology, the tasks of military UAVs are more and more diversified. From the training effect and actual combat inspection and observation, it has a good performance in the fields of reconnaissance and surveillance, integrated detection and combat, electronic jamming, communication and navigation, transportation and refueling, and has been paid attention to by all parties. In the "Spring Shield" operation in 2020, Türkiye sent out "Anka" - S and "Flagman" TB-2 surveillance and strike UAVs, which severely damaged the Syrian government ground forces. During the Naqqa conflict in the same year, Azerbaijan used multiple UAVs to carry out reconnaissance and surveillance, target indication, operational evaluation and other tasks. Its precise attack on Armenian air defense systems and ground vehicles has updated many countries' understanding of UAV operations. In view of this, Morocco, Ethiopia and other countries caught in regional disputes are very active in UAV military procurement, and they expect to gain military advantages over their rivals through this low-cost approach. From the supply side, more and more countries have joined the ranks of military UAV exporters. Due to different design ideas and operational applications, as well as different costs, countries have different comparative advantages in the UAV market, and it is difficult to achieve "one rule". Israel is the largest exporter of UAVs in the world, providing UAVs to 56 countries. In recent years, the United States has also relaxed its export control on UAVs. While exporting UAVs to Britain and other traditional allies, it has also increased its exports to the United Arab Emirates and other Middle East countries. The "Flagman" TB-2 Chada One UAV produced by Türkiye has performed well in the conflicts in Ukraine, Syria, Libya and Nagorny Karabakh, and has also attracted more and more buyers. Statistics show that Türkiye has exported UAVs to 24 target countries. As more and more cost-effective UAVs are put into the market, this diversified procurement mode will become increasingly obvious. From the demand side, the importing countries of UAVs mainly consider two aspects when purchasing. In terms of purchase price and supply chain, diversified procurement is conducive to negotiating with sellers to lower prices, reduce the impact of changes in relations between countries, and try to avoid being controlled by others. In terms of performance and operational use, a high-low matching system can be formed to meet the requirements of different operational tasks. Take Morocco, which has shown strong performance in UAV procurement recently, for example, it has introduced different types of UAVs from Türkiye and Israel. The "flagman" TB-2 in Türkiye is a medium-sized surveillance drone, while the "halop" in Israel is a small suicide drone

Edit:Yi Bing    Responsible editor:Wei Li Bin

Source:China Military Net - PLA Daily

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