Turkish UAV shown at UAE airbase for the first time

A still from a video published by UAE's Edge Group showing military personnel pushing what appears to be a Bayraktar TB2 UAV out of a hangar, probably at Liwa Air Base. (Edge Group)

A Bayraktar TB2 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) made by the Turkish company Baykar was almost certainly shown at a UAE Air Force and Air Defence (AFAD) base for the first time in a video released by the state-owned defence company Edge Group on 31 December.

The UAV was seen being pushed out of a hangar with a small guided bomb under each wing in an end-of-year promotional video. It had air intakes on either side of its engine like the TB2, instead of the single, larger intake on top of the fuselage of the similar Reach-S UAV being developed by Edge.

The men handling the UAV were wearing berets, indicating they were military personnel rather than company employees.

The footage of the UAV was clearly not filmed at Edge's testing facility on Abu al-Abyad island as a staggered series of aircraft shelters could be seen through the hangar's door. This arrangement of buildings matches the one at the northern apron of Liwa Air Base in western Abu Dhabi.

The shots of the UAV were followed by another showing an Emirati woman with the epaulets of a first lieutenant seemingly piloting a UAV with oversight by a civilian instructor. The screen showed footage filmed by a camera mounted on the tail of what appeared to be a TB2 as it had a propeller nacelle, something that has not been seen on the Reach-S.