Azerbaijan’s Nakhchivan army gets Turkish kamikaze drones

Azerbaijan’s army in the Nakhchivan exclave has received Sivrisinek kamikaze drones, the Baykar-built loitering munition also known as YIHA-III, the Azerbaijani defense outlet TURAN Defence AZ reported.

The drones went to the Nakhchivan Separate Combined Arms Army, according to the post. Baku has not announced the delivery, and there is no word on how many arrived.

Albania fielded the same drone in 2025. Indian forces have displayed one they say was shot down after launch from Pakistan during Operation Sindoor.

Baykar lists a range of up to 1,000 km (620 miles) and a 20 kg (44-pound) warhead. The drone is 3.8 m (12.5 feet) long, weighs about 76 kg (168 pounds) and launches from a catapult, so crews need no runway. It cruises at roughly 100 km/h (63 mph), and a full-range flight lasts nine hours or more.

The UM version flies the full 1,000 km and uses satellite navigation to hit its target. The UMX reaches 900 km but adds an AI-assisted camera for the final dive. Baykar says the drone can navigate by camera when GPS is jammed and can relay its signal through a Bayraktar TB2, TB3 or Akıncı flying overhead.

In April, Baykar flew 10 Sivrisinek drones in a swarm with five K2 kamikaze drones at its Keşan test center in northwestern Türkiye. The system went on public display at the SAHA 2026 defense show in Istanbul in May.

At the same show, Baykar chief executive Haluk Bayraktar said systems on display, including Sivrisinek, would be manufactured at factories in Azerbaijan. Azerbaijani media later reported the two countries would produce it jointly.

Nakhchivan is cut off from mainland Azerbaijan by Armenian territory and borders Türkiye and Iran.