# Bayraktar TB2: Moroccan drone pilots completes training in Turkey

- Link: https://www.military.africa/2021/09/bayraktar-tb2-moroccan-drone-pilots-completes-training-in-turkey/
- Published: 2021-09-06T09:27:00+01:00
- Author: Darek Liam

Personnel drawn from the Royal Morrocan Armed Force have completed training on the
Bayraktar TB2 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in Turkey.

In April, Morocco’s Royal Armed Forces (FAR) [signed a contract with Turkey ](https://www.military.africa/2021/09/bayraktar-tb2-moroccan-drone-pilots-completes-training-in-turkey/military.africa/2021/04/morocco-orders-13-bayraktar-tb2-uav)
worth MAD 626 million ($70 million) for the supply of thirteen Bayraktar TB2 unmanned
combat aerial vehicles.

 military.africa/2021/04/morocco-orders-13-bayraktar-tb2-uav

As part of the contract, Moroccan personnel will receive training, logistical and
technical support. Also, four ground stations, a configurable simulation system,
and a digital system for tracking and storing information will be delivered, as 
well as a drone operations center in Moroccan airbases.

The first batch of the Bayraktar TB2 is expected to arrive before the year runs 
out.
The new Bayraktar TB2 drones will help Morocco in its plans to modernize its
armament and improve on its combat capabilities to ensure continued regional security
and stability.

The Bayraktar TB2 UAV rose to prominence after successful combat performance in 
Syria, [Libya](https://www.military.africa/2021/09/bayraktar-tb2-moroccan-drone-pilots-completes-training-in-turkey/military.africa/2019/06/libya-turkish-made-bayraktar-tb2-uav-seen-at-the-gna-held-airbase),
and more recently, Azerbaijan where it destroyed Soviet-vintage air defense systems
and ground combat vehicles.

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The allure of the TB2 is that as a cheap, simple-to-use drone, it has benefits in
providing support to ground forces in conflicts where an adversary has little or
no [capable air defenses](https://www.military.africa/2021/09/bayraktar-tb2-moroccan-drone-pilots-completes-training-in-turkey/military.africa/2020/08/libya-turkey-deploys-korkut-35-mm-air-defense-gun-to-counter-aircraft-scud-drones).

The Bayraktar TB2 UAV is well-suited for small, irregular wars and can help tilt
the balance in favor of allied ground forces. 
Morocco earmarked a MAD178.87 billion(
$20 billion) for a five-year plan to reach “regional supremacy” through modernizing
its armed forces.

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Part of the multi-year modernization effort particularly in UAV operations will 
see Rabat [acquiring four U.S.-made MQ-9B SeaGuardian drones ](https://www.military.africa/2021/09/bayraktar-tb2-moroccan-drone-pilots-completes-training-in-turkey/military.africa/2020/12/trump-push-1-billion-mq-9b-drone-precision-munition-sale-to-morocco)
made by privately-held General Atomics as well as several precision-guided munitions
in a $1 billion deal.
Rabat also took delivery of [three Israeli-made Harfang drones last year ](https://www.military.africa/2021/09/bayraktar-tb2-moroccan-drone-pilots-completes-training-in-turkey/military.africa/2020/02/morocco-receives-iai-heron-uav-in-48-million-deal)
under a separate $48 million arms deal.Most of these new drones will be tasked to
monitor rebel Polisario activities in the western Sahara axis.

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