- WIADOMOŚCI
Türkiye wants 10 million kamikaze drones. Its soldiers beat France and Italy
Photo. Генеральний штаб ЗСУ / General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine / Facebook
Türkiye has won the first international military FPV drone competition, defeating Pakistan, Italy and France. The event brought together 22 military teams from 18 countries, including Poland. Ankara also announced an ambitious plan to produce 10 million kamikaze drones over the next decade, demonstrating the growing importance of unmanned systems in modern warfare.
The Best International Military Drone Team Competition 2026 (BIMDTC-2026) took place at the Temelli military airfield near Ankara from 20 to 24 October. The Turkish Land Forces team won the final, completing a course featuring 23 obstacles in just 41.417 seconds. Pakistan finished second with 50.253 seconds, followed by Italy with 50.680 seconds and France with 57.142 seconds.
Poland also participated in the competition, alongside military operators from countries including Croatia, Azerbaijan, Latvia and Spain. Interestingly, a Croatian soldier was named the competition’s best individual FPV pilot, while Croatia finished seventh in the team rankings.
The most important announcement came from General Selçuk Bayraktaroğlu, Chief of the Turkish General Staff. He revealed plans to manufacture 5 million kamikaze drones within five years and 10 million within ten years. These are production targets rather than confirmed manufacturing capabilities, and Ankara has not yet published a detailed industrial timetable.
The competition also attracted senior military representatives from Sudan and Somalia, alongside Turkish defence companies including ASELSAN, BAYKAR, ROKETSAN and STM. Ankara used the event to demonstrate its military training capabilities and promote domestically developed technologies to potential international partners.
Nevertheless, completing an FPV obstacle course does not directly demonstrate battlefield effectiveness, particularly under electronic warfare conditions. The more significant development is Türkiye’s ambition to develop drone production on a scale that could fundamentally change how its armed forces prepare for future conflicts.
