Turkey Pressures Canada for Permission to Acquire Drone Equipment

Recent reports from the Permanent Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development of the House of Commons of Canada reveal that Turkey has applied for permission to obtain WESCAM equipment intended for Azerbaijan, as reported by Ahvalnews.

The documents presented to the parliamentary committee indicate how Canadian-made equipment designed for airstrikes was found in Nagorno-Karabakh during the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict in 2020, with the Azerbaijani Air Force noted as the end user of the product.

In May, Canada allowed the export of seven MX-15D drone systems produced by L3Harris Wescam to Turkey. These systems were intended for the Turkish drone manufacturer Baykar, despite a 2019 arms embargo that prohibited the export of most military equipment to that country.

Canada had suspended the export of advanced drone technologies to Turkey after it was proven that Turkish drones were used against Armenians in Artsakh. Last October, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan urged all countries to halt military technology exports to Turkey when defense ministry officials reported that high-tech Canadian components were found in a downed Turkish drone during the Nagorno-Karabakh war.

Armenian officials claim that the Bayraktar TB2 reconnaissance and strike drone is equipped with cameras and targeting systems manufactured by L3 Harris WESCAM, located in Burlington, Ontario.