Canada suspends exports of some military drone technology to Turkey

On Monday (5 October) Canada’s minister of foreign affairs, Francois-Philippe Champagne, announced the government had suspended the export of some military drone technology to Turkey.

The decision follows allegations that the equipment was being used by the Azeri military against Armenian forces in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh territory, where heavy clashes have taken place since 27 September.

In response to the move, the Turkish foreign ministry said on Tuesday (6 October) that Canada had demonstrated a ‘double standard, citing Canada’s sales of arms to states militarily involved in the Yemen crisis.

Turkey has consistently denied sending any people or arms into the Nagorno-Karabak conflict.

Why it matters: Ankara is a long-standing ally of Baku and has publicly vowed to lend its support in the conflict flare up. After Russia and Israel, Turkey is the largest supplier of military equipment to Azerbaijan, with previous sales including rocket launchers and drones; this is a strong indication Turkish supplies have likely been utilised in the current conflict.

Videos of air strikes obtained by Project Ploughshares, a Canadian arms control group, indicate that the drones used were equipped with imaging and targeting systems from L3Harris Technologies Inc, a Canadian based company.

According to a report published in The Globe and Mail on Monday, seven of these systems were sold with permission by L3Harris to the Turkish drone maker, Baykar. Businesses with interests in weapon manufacturing sales between Canada and Turkey are advised to assess the impact of the Canadian government’s decision on operations and monitor developments.