Bombardier Fooled: Halts Supply of Engines Used for Drones to Turkey

Canadian Bombardier Recreational Products has halted the supply of aviation engines to Turkey, as reported by CBC. The company stated that it only recently learned that the engines were being used for military drones.

Bombardier Recreational Products announced that it will stop delivering aviation engines to countries with "uncertain usage" amid reports that some of these engines are utilized in Turkish combat drones, which are employed by Azerbaijan in the fighting against Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Based in Quebec, the company said that it became aware last week that certain aviation engines produced by its Austrian subsidiary, Rotax, are used in Turkish Bayraktar TB2 drones. "We were informed recently that some Rotax engines are currently being used in military unmanned aerial vehicles, and we immediately initiated a thorough investigation. At the same time, we are halting the delivery of aviation engines to countries with uncertain usages," said Martin Langelier, vice president and spokesperson for Bombardier Recreational Products, in an interview with Radio Canada.

Langelier noted that all Rotax engines are designed and manufactured in Austria exclusively for civilian purposes and are certified only for civilian use.

Earlier, Canadian Foreign Minister François-Philippe Champagne announced a halt to the supply of military equipment to Turkey. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also stated that Canada must clarify how military equipment supplied to Turkey ended up in Azerbaijan.

It was previously revealed that the remotely controlled camera of a Turkish Bayraktar TB2 combat drone shot down by Armenian armed forces is the L-3 WESCAM CMX-15D model, produced in June 2020 by Canada’s WESCAM company and installed on the Bayraktar TB2 in September.