The Government of Maldives has decided to officially commence on Friday the surveillance of the country's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) via the use of the two military drones it has purchased from Turkey.
The special ceremony marking this is planned to be held in Noonu Atoll Maafaru. MNDF will be establishing a dedicated base for drone operations in Maafaru International Airport.
Although there has been no official word yet from the government, social media footage of the drones indicate that the drones are of the model Bayraktar TB2 drones from Turkey.
The Bayraktar TB2 is a medium-altitude long-endurance unmanned combat aerial craft capable of remote controlled or autonomous flight operations. They are able to fly at altitudes of 25,000 feet for over 27 hours. They are 6 meters long, with a wing span of 12 meters, and is about 700 kg in weight.
These drones are also built with the capability to support laser guided missiles. The payload capacity of the craft is 150 kg. These drones have been in production since 2014.
A special MNDF team trained to use these drones with the capability of conducting surgical precision strikes has travelled to Maafaru.
It has also been learned that a team from MNDF has previously visited Turkey and received specialized training on the operation of these drones.
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