KUWAIT CITY, June 13: Kuwait's Ministry of Defense (MoD) announced Tuesday signing a direct deal with Turkiye to buy the Bayraktar TB2 drones worth in total USD 367 million. In a statement, the Ministry said that the contract, signed between the two governments without any mediators, came to enhance defense capabilities of the Kuwaiti army.

The drones have high technical potential in carrying out reconnaissance and targeting missions, and supporting military operations, as well as they provide intelligence information, according to the statement. They also have the ability to carry varied weapons, including laser-directed missiles and smart bombs, it said. It stated this type of drones was tested, in Kuwait in July 2019, and flew 27 hours and 3 minutes without pause, amid difficult climatic conditions like high temperature, winds and sand storms, indicating that this is a record.

The Bayraktar TB2 drones are the best ones in the world in terms of several use, as the length of a drone is 6.5m and its width is 12m, it said. The drone can fly for 24 hours without pause, with a load of 650 kg as maximum at a speed of 130 km, it noted. The statement indicated that the Cabinet was informed, in its session held on June 7, 2023, about the contract of the Ministry with the Turkish side on the TB2 drone. The step was made, in accordance with the laws and regulations and by the approval of the regulatory authorities in the country.

The contract includes preparing special facilities to those aircraft, including arming, electronic warfare equipment, and mobile ground control stations that are compatible with NATO standards, in addition to providing necessary maintenance and logistical supplies for them, it elaborated. Moreover, the deal includes the provision of support equipment, ground tests, and developed technical updates to this system and its accessories, as well as the establishment of a simulation system with the provision of technical support for a period of 3 years, in addition to training national pilots and technicians. Kuwait is the 28th countries across the globe, which signed such a deal, in addition to some GCC states. (KUNA)