A Turkish-made Bayraktar Akıncı drone has crashed in Libya for the first time. Images and videos of the wreckage were shared online shortly after the incident.
The unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) was found near Agilata, a city situated between Tripoli and the Tunisian border. This marks the first recorded crash of a Bayraktar Akıncı drone in Libya.
Markings on the wreckage confirm that the drone belonged to the Libyan Air Force. The presence of this advanced model in Libya was first confirmed in May 2023, when the Libyan Prime Minister released images of the Akıncı being used in anti-smuggling operations.
The drone, one of Turkey’s most advanced UAVs, was recently sold to the Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA) forces. It was likely based at Misrata Air Base, conducting both combat and training missions. Images show that it was armed with high-precision MAM-L guided aerial bombs.
First report of Tripoli acquiring the Akinci was in 2022, when Libyan politician and businessman Abdulhamid Dbeibah who is the prime minister of Libya under the Government of National Unity (GNU) in Tripoli on Tuesday 25, October 2022 visited Turkey where he signed a military cooperation with the Turkish Defence Minister Akar Hulusi.
Local media reported at the time that a deal for the acquisition of the Turkish-built Akinci drone was later signed between both countries. This move consolidated Dbeibah’s grip on power by protecting his administration from a fresh offensive by Haftar’s force, although, Turkish military presence is already preventing such attempts.
The exact cause of the crash is still unknown. Some sources suggest it may have been shot down by smuggling groups, pointing to smoke in the sky that indicates it was possibly hit by a missile fired by Libyan National Army (LNA) forces under General Haftar.
This crash is the first recorded loss of a Bayraktar Akıncı, a model that has only recently begun to be delivered to international clients. At least two of these drones were transferred to Libya in May 2023 for use in counter-smuggling operations.
In addition to Libya, the Bayraktar Akıncı is already in service in several countries, including Turkey, Pakistan, Ethiopia, Azerbaijan, Mali, the United Arab Emirates, and Burkina Faso.
Bayraktar AKINCI is capable of conducting operations performed with fighter jets. It carries electronic support systems, dual satellite communication systems, air-to-air radar, collision avoidance radar and synthetic aperture radar.
Bayraktar AKINCI can be used in air-to-ground and air-to-air attack missions as well. Ethiopia and Burkina Faso have acquired the Akinci.
Libya already fields about 20 Bayrakter TB2 drones which were used extensively during the recent Civil war against Haftar’s Libyan National Army. However, several of them were lost during the conflict. They were ordered in 2019.
On its own, Haftar’s LNA fields Chinese-made Wing Loong I (6 units) and Wing Loong II (10) units, as well as 12 Iranian Mohajer-4 drones, and 10 Russian-built Orlan-10 tactical drones.
