Military drones have been brought to the Maldives for the first time following an agreement by the current government with a Turkish company to purchase drones to patrol the country's waters.

A senior government official involved in the matter told Adhadhu that the drones were delivered to the Maldives on March 3. The drones are currently at Noonu Maafaru International Airport.

However, the number of drones acquired from Turkey under the agreement remains unclear. The government official said the government is working to start operations of the drones within the next week.

The government has not made any official comments regarding the drones.

The aircraft that arrived in Maafaru with the drones.

During a press conference on Wednesday, Adhadhu questioned whether the Maldives has the capability to operate such drones. But the Defence Ministry official declined to respond directly and said work is ongoing to strengthen the capabilities.

Social media users who track flight movements claim that the drones were carried by a flight of Kyrgyzstan's Fly Sky Airlines.

Flight radar website shows that the aircraft travelled from Turkey's Tekirdağ to Maafaru International Airport. One of the most popular drone manufacturing companies in Turkey, Baykar Bayraktar, has its drone shipment center in Tekirdağ. The company works closely with the Turkish government.

According to social media posts, Baykar's TB2 drones and equipment needed for the drones were delivered to the Maldives.

Baykar Bayraktar

The most popular drones manufactured by Baykar are the Bayraktar TB2 drones. These are drones that have been practically involved in the battlefield and have proven their capabilities. These types of drones received the most attention because the Ukrainian military used them to target Russian military convoys.

According to websites and newspapers sharing military and defense information, the Bayraktar TB2 drones are in high demand. The reason is that the quality of this drone is reliable and it is not expensive. A drone will cost USD 5 million. A control station also costs about USD 5 million.

These drones are used by the militaries of 31 countries.

A drone will cost USD 5 million.

Following his state visit to China in January, President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu indicated that the government was looking to acquire surveillance drones.

Speaking to reporters at the Velana International Airport (VIA) on January 13, Muizzu said that Maldives is not located in the backyard of any country.

"Even though our islands are small, we are a huge country with a very large exclusive economic zone of nine lakh square kilometers. Maldives is one country that holds the largest proportion of this ocean. This ocean is not the property of a specific country," he said indirectly referring to India.

On February 28, Muizzu said during a campaign gathering in Noonu Manadhoo that the Maldives will have the capability to patrol the waters 24 hours starting from March.

Earlier this year, the President’s Office also amended the Import Duty Waiver Procedure to give the President the discretion to remove import duties on items for use by the security services. This is believed to be an amendment to the rules to facilitate the purchase of military drones.

Although this is the first time that such drones have been acquired for the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF), the government has not disclosed any information on the matter. Adhadhu earlier reported that USD 37 million (MVR 569.8 million) was allocated from the state’s contingency budget to purchase the drones.

The Defence Ministry later said the government is procuring modern “platforms and equipment” for MNDF to defend and protect the Maldives by road, sea and air.

During Wednesday's press briefing, the Defence Ministry refused to provide details of the agreement to purchase the drones. The Foreign Ministry has also, so far, not provided any information on the matter.