Turkey’s highly touted Bayraktar Akıncı drones have suffered major setbacks after being downed in two separate regions—northeast Mali and Iraqi Kurdistan—within just two weeks, exposing vulnerabilities in Ankara’s drone exports and deployment strategy in unstable areas, Paul Iddon of Forbes reported on Sunday.
On the night of 31 March to 1 April, an Akıncı drone operated by Mali’s army crashed near Tinzaouaten, close to Algeria’s border. Algeria quickly claimed it had shot down the “armed reconnaissance drone” after it violated its airspace. Meanwhile, the Malian Armed Forces only confirmed the loss of the drone during a surveillance mission, without attributing blame.
The Azawad Liberation Front (FLA), a separatist Tuareg group, released videos of the wreckage, which included parts marked with NATO-standard CAGE codes linking the drone to Turkish defence company Baykar. Among the debris were two MAM-T glide bombs and components of a MAM-L bomb, all manufactured by Turkish firm Roketsan.
Mali had received just two Akinci drones from Turkey in 2024. The crash—whether caused by enemy fire or technical failure—marks a considerable loss for Bamako and adds pressure on Ankara’s increasingly controversial drone diplomacy in the Sahel.
Drone warfare analyst Wim Zwijnenburg from the NGO PAX told France 24 the Akıncı drone is particularly vulnerable to anti-aircraft fire. “It lacks countermeasures and often flies at low altitudes due to regional weather conditions, making it an easy target for missiles or jets,” he said.
Just two weeks earlier, on 16 March, another Akıncı drone operated by Turkey was shot down in the Qandil (Qendîl) region of Iraqi Kurdistan by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which released footage of the strike. Analysts suggest the PKK may be using Iranian-supplied loitering munitions equipped with advanced infrared and optical sensors, giving them the capability to target high-altitude UAVs.
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have also reportedly developed or acquired similar anti-drone systems, downing several Turkish TB2, Aksungur, and Anka models over the past year.
The latest crash in Mali adds another layer to Ankara’s challenges. Algeria’s military claimed the drone penetrated two kilometres into its airspace before being targeted by its air defence systems stationed near the border.
“Since there was no pilot onboard, Algeria could shoot down the drone without risking a diplomatic crisis,” Zwijnenburg noted, drawing parallels to past incidents involving Iranian and US drones near border zones.
While speculation continues, the incident underscores a growing trend: Turkey’s military drones—once symbols of regional tech dominance—are now increasingly vulnerable to both state and non-state actors. The setbacks could have wider implications for Turkey’s arms export strategy and its political alliances in volatile regions such as the Sahel, Syria, and Iraq.
With visual evidence, battlefield debris, and competing claims, the drone wars have entered a new phase—one where low-cost counter-drone tech is fast levelling the aerial battlefield.
