Turkish Skydagger kamikaze drones arrived early in Kosovo: Premier

BELGRADE, Serbia

Containers carrying thousands of Turkish Skydagger kamikaze drones have already arrived in Kosovo, marking an early delivery under a contract with Turkish defense company Baykar, Kosovo’s prime minister said Wednesday.

Dozens of Kosovo Security Force soldiers have already been trained to operate the drones, which are designed for precision strikes against both moving and stationary targets, Albin Kurti said on US social media platform Facebook.

“The contract was signed last December with Baykar, the parent company of the Skydagger manufacturer,” Kurti said, noting that the drones were originally expected to arrive next January but instead were delivered three months ahead of schedule.

He described the ready-to-fly Skydagger first-person view-type systems as “combat drones equipped with explosive payloads intended to neutralize enemy targets,” adding that their arrival strengthens Kosovo’s defense capabilities.

“With this contingent of unmanned aircraft, alongside (Baykar’s) TB2 Bayraktar and (US) Puma systems, we are continuing to build and modernize our military force through new technologies and contemporary combat tactics,” he said.

According to Kurti, the drones were transported on Rheinmetall 8x8 multifunctional trucks acquired last year – 15 in total, 10 purchased by Kosovo and five donated.

Officials have not disclosed the total number of drones received or details on their operational deployment.