Israel and Turkey battle for drone supremacy

The two countries are amongst the biggest drone exporters in the world and could also find their drones clashing on the battlefield in Syria.

The 2010 Mavi Marmara flotilla had many detrimental effects on Israeli-Turkish relations. One of the least talked about is the severing of the deep connection between Israel’s defense industries and the Turkish defense establishment, which had included the supply of Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) Heron drones. Israeli technicians stopped visiting Turkey, and as a result of poor maintenance, drones crashed. "Look at how Israeli drones crash," quipped President Erdogan, without addressing the lack of maintenance.

The years have passed, and today the two countries are battling it out head-to-head at the top of the international drone trade rankings. Israel and Turkey could also clash in Syria, which has become a Turkish protectorate, run by Ahmed al-Sharaa in coordination with his patron Erdogan, and often with interests that conflict with Israel.

"Turkey is a significant adversary, and a clash between the countries in Syria could even happen by mistake," explains Dr. Eyal Pinko of the Department of Political Studies and the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies at Bar-Ilan University. "Even taking into account that the Turks are mainly in northern Syria, because they are interested in oil and natural gas, and Israel is mainly in the south, a clash could occur, if at all, in the air. Manned aircraft battles are less likely due to their high escalation, so if one side wants to carry out small strikes for the sake of warnings, it could happen with drones."

Alon Unger, chairman and founder of Unmanned Vehicles Israel Defense (UVID) Conferences and founder of the UAV community in Israel, warns that "What awaits in the skies of Syria is not Gaza. In the drone space, countries allow themselves things that they don't do elsewhere."

Such a clash could further highlight Israeli and Turkish UAV products, which are already well-known to everyone on the market. A study published by researcher Molly Campbell at the CNAS (Center for a New American Security) found that Israel was the world’s top supplier of drones (suicide drones) between 1995 and 2023, while Turkey, which only entered the market in 2018, supplied more attack drones than any other country.

Both countries’ weapons are "combat proven," but not to the same extent. Both Israeli and Turkish-made drones were used by Azerbaijan to defeat Armenia in the Second Karabakh War in 2020. Then, at the beginning of the Russia-Ukrainian War, the Turkish Bayraktar TB2s impressed, but a few months later the Russians found an appropriate response.

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During Israel’s operation in Iran in June, Israeli drones made by IAI, Elbit Systems and Aeronautics took over the skies of Iran, including in the heart of major cities.

Dr. Hay Eytan Cohen Yanarocak, an expert on Turkey at the Moshe Dayan Center at Tel Aviv University and the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security, says that the Turkish media is careful not to provide any coverage about Israeli drones, even though the local industry was created on the basis of Israeli and US products.

"Erdogan uses the expression 'the cruel landlord turns the tenant into the owner of the apartment somewhere else.' That is, because the Turks relied on Israel to obtain the drones, and they 'did not provide a good service,' so the Turks chose to develop their own drones," explains Dr. Cohen Yanarocak "Today, when you look at the coverage of the Israeli attacks during the war in Gaza and Lebanon, the Turks refrain from praising Israeli technology. In contrast, when you open the Turkish Intelligence Academy report on the subject of Israel’s operation in Iran, you see that they are well aware of Israeli progress and detail the means and their effectiveness."

The struggle over arms exports

The two countries are also battling it out in the higher rankings of global defense exports for drones. Data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) shows that Israel ranks eighth in the world's exporters, with about 3.1% of total trade in 2020-2024, and Turkey ranks 11th with 1.7%. However, an examination of trends shows that while Israel fell slightly by about 3.2% between 2015 and 2019, the Turks rose by about 0.8%.

The drone sector was a major anchor in Turkey’s defense industry in 2022-2024, accounting for 25%-33% of all Turkish defense exports. In contrast, Israel is significantly lagging behind, as reflected in official data. According to SIBAT data, drones accounted for 25% of all Israel’s defense exports in 2022 but dropped to 4% in 2023 and only 1% in 2024. This is despite the fact that, according to Unger, there are more than 300 companies in the Israeli ecosystem.

The Israeli drone industry will gather for the traditional UVID exhibition at Expo Tel Aviv on November 26. Data provided to "Globes," by analysts ABG-SC, ahead of the event, shows the scope of the Turks' extensive drone exports - dozens of Akinci and Aksungur drones, about 100 Anka drones, and more than 600 Bayraktar TB2s.

The Bayraktar TB2, Akinci and other models are manufactured by Baykar Corp, whose chairman and CTO is President Erdogan's son-in-law, Selcuk Bayraktar. This company is Turkey's defense export leader by a large margin, with $1.8 billion revenue in 2024. In second place is Turkish Aerospace Industries (TUSA?), with $750 million revenue and in third place is shipyard company ASFAT ($644 million), which is behind the strength of the Turkish navy.

"Drones as an engine of growth"

Unger promotes the vision and policy in Israel of "UAVs as a national growth engine," which strives to connect all ministries into an organized activity in the field. This is not only the Ministry of Defense, but also the Ministry of Economy and Industry, which has identified it as a potential growth engine in the defense sector. Therefore, the Defense and Cyber Cluster operates in the Ministry of Economy Growth Authority and the Joint Chiefs of Staff, led by Elinor Jacobson.

Due to trends in Israel and worldwide, Unger calls for an awakening in the field of drones following the lack of readiness in the drone field, which was reflected at the start of the war. Before the war, there was a debate about whether drones should be abandoned altogether due to the availability of relatively cheap Chinese products, especially DJI, but immediately after October 7, the need for Israeli independence became apparent.

The Turks, it is clear, have the ability to both produce and export in large volumes. Reports abroad indicate that Turkey exported defense products to 178 countries last year, a 103% jump from 2015-2019. Its main customers, according to SIPRI are the UAE, Pakistan and Qatar.

Excluding the UAE, which also buys from Israel, Pakistan and Qatar reflect how different the main export markets of Turkey and Israel are. According to SIPRI, 34% of Israeli exports in 2020-2024 were to India, 13% to the US and 8.1% to the Philippines. In the latest escalation between India and Pakistan in May, Israeli and Turkish weapons in general and drones in particular clashed head-on, and the Indians came away satisfied. This influenced their decision this week to sign a strategic cooperation agreement between the defense ministries of the two countries, and India’s ambition to procure new systems from Israel, especially missiles.

Differences with Ankara

The number of different countries to which Turkey exports indicates the great differences between the Defense Export Control Division (DECC) of the Israeli Ministry of Defense and Turkey’s more undiscriminating strategy. The latter is willing to export to almost any country, including those that lack the funds to purchase even one drone. For these, the Turks have created a model in which they sometimes give a drone or two "as a gift" to an undeveloped country, so that it is forced to purchase the maintenance work from them. In contrast to this undiscriminating policy, Unger warns against the consequences of overregulation. Drones are also used for civilian missions, and despite all this, he says, even a parachute for a drone requires DECC approval.

In the past, Israel was also innovative in terms of marketing. In 2010, the US demanded that NATO members provide flight hours in Afghanistan. The Germans turned to Israel, and leased Heron 1 drones from IAI. Unger says, "Israel's uniqueness was also expressed in innovative sales methods. Leasing is not a standard thing in the defense sector: payment by the hour. However, countries have since developed capabilities and there is less need for it."

Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on November 10, 2025.

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