The Maldives will develop two bases of operations, one at Gan in Seenu (S.) Atoll [Addu Atoll] and another at Funadhoo Island in Shaviyani (Sh.) Atoll, which will serve to strengthen efforts to monitor the Maldives’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), the Mohamed Muizzu administration has decided.
While military drones were first deployed in the Maldives this year on 15 March, three unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) were purchased by the Government, following huge concessions, from Türkiye as part of President Muizzu’s stated goal of securing the Maldives’ independence and sovereign territory without significant reliance on outside influences.
Even as the UAVs are currently headquartered at Maafaru International Airport, Defence Minister Mohamed Ghassan Maumoon, speaking to local media on Tuesday, said that Chief of Defence Force, Major General Ibrahim Hilmy, had decided to set up drone bases at S. Gan and Sh. Funadhoo.
The land required to set up the base at Sh. Funadhoo has now been provided by the Funadhoo Council, with practical work ready to begin, the Minister said. The plan is to complete the UAV base in S. Gan and then start work on the base at Sh. Funadhoo, he stated — S. Gan is already host to Gan International Airport (GIA).
Work on the UAV centre in S. Gan should be completed within the first two weeks of November and drone operations will begin as soon as the centre is completed, Maumoon said.
While there are currently three drones in operation, the Muizzu administration is looking to bring in more drones by the time the UAV bases are completed — the administration has not confirmed the exact number of drones to be brought in.
“Work is going very fast now. We hope to start UAV operations from S. Gan by the end of November. The army is working on it now,” the Minister said.
According to the Minister, UAV operations are currently being run out of Maafaru Airport because the President wanted deployment as soon as possible. The Maldives is currently using the most in-demand military drones in the world, delivered in just four months, thanks to the close relationship between President Muizzu and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Maumoon said.
“If acquired from the production line, it would have only been available in four years or five years at the earliest. As such, we got them [early] with a lot of assistance from the Turkish government. The President travelled to the country [Türkiye] around November last year. We took delivery [of the drones] in March… They arranged it so quickly that the President wanted to start as soon as possible. The most suitable airport for this was found in Maafaru because it had a large [enough] hanger,” the Defence Minister said.
The Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) will bear the cost of the hangars built at S. Gan and Sh. Funadhoo, Maumoon confirmed.
The Minister, responding to reports that the use of drones to patrol the EEZ has been halted, rubbished the claim, explaining that operations were currently suspended due to work on extending the runway at Maafaru Airport, but that operations will resume starting 25 October.
Maumoon also moved to allay concerns that operations at S. Gan might significantly impact tourism activity in the area by highlighting that the army had already been stationed at Addu for 31 years. He also noted that the presence of the army across the country is significant for national defence.
The Southern Area Command, where extensive training, including live munitions training, is conducted, is hosted at S. Gan.
“I don’t think tourism activities should be conducted in both areas close to the Southern Area Command. There are live fire exercises there. You can hear gunshots. Additionally, even with the strictest safety measures in place, weapons [in a training scenario] should be used in a manner that does not impact the wellbeing of people or property,” Maumoon said.
According to the Minister, the military authorities therefore decided to dedicate one area, to the side of the Southern Area Command, for tourism activities instead of on both sides.
“So the eastern side [to the Southern Area Command] was not extended for tourism purposes but for the MNDF purpose,” the Minister explained.
It would be unsafe to allow tourism activities in an area where live munitions are deployed, regardless of the presence of a drone centre, he said.
The administration, upon making the decision to deploy drones in the Maldives, initially designated S. Gan as a specialised centre for the UAVs. It is the southernmost point of the country and has the airport most suited to operate drones surveilling the 200-mile exclusive economic zone south of the nation.
“And it is not very high traffic, so we can very easily conduct operations and take up the time for take-offs and landings. For these reasons, the operational commanders consulted the Chief of Defence Force and submitted the proposal to the President,” he explained.
Maumoon further reassured the public that drone bases would not cause harm to the Maldivian people and that a strong defence system would contribute to the progress of the nation, pointing to countries like Singapore and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as examples.