A third shipment of new military drones has arrived at Gan International Airport in Addu Atoll in the early hours of Saturday, as the government continues preparations to establish a drone base in the south of the country.
The drones were delivered on an Air Master Boeing 737-8F2 aircraft, which landed in Gan at 2:44 p.m. after flying from Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates. As with the previous two shipments, the aircraft made a stop in Tekirdağ, Turkey, where Turkish drone manufacturer Baykar operates its testing and production facilities.
The first shipment of drones arrived on Wednesday aboard an Ilyushin Il-76TD cargo aircraft operated by Belarus’ Ruby Star Airways. It was transported in three 20-foot containers, while details of the latest consignments have not been made public. The containers are believed to contain components of the drones, which will be assembled and tested by a Baykar technical team upon arrival.
According to sources familiar with the procurement, Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) has purchased three Bayraktar Akıncı drones and a ground control unit. The aircraft will be based at the MNDF Air Base in Addu City. A dedicated drone base is currently being developed at Gan Airport.
The government has instructed the MNDF to complete preparations to inaugurate the base during President Mohamed Muizzu’s expected visit to Addu City in the final 10 days of this month.
The Defence Ministry has not disclosed the cost of the latest drone purchase. A previous acquisition of Bayraktar TB2 drones from Baykar was also kept secret, with discussions held behind closed doors at a parliamentary national security committee, commonly referred to as the 241 Committee, meeting attended by Defence Minister Mohamed Ghassan Maumoon.
However, reliable sources said the deal for the new drones was valued at around US$37 million (MVR 570 million), funded through the state contingency budget. The government has yet to release any details of the procurement.