Special Report: Turkmenistan unveils new air defence and unmanned systems

Dagor light tactical vehicles are displayed during Turkmenistan's Independence Day parade in Ashgabat. (Nikolay Vavilov via Getty Images)

Turkmenistan unveiled a new air-defence system and several unmanned systems during a military parade held in Ashgabat on 27 September to commemorate the 35th anniversary of the country's independence.

The induction of the Chinese FK-2000 adds a mobile gun-and-missile capability to the Chinese-supplied component of Turkmenistan's air-defence inventory. The recent introduction of the Point Blank precision-strike missile, ThunderB-vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), and DJI Matrice 30T, alongside the display of other tactical UAVs, loitering munitions, and Katana unmanned surface vehicles (USVs), points to growing investment in autonomous and remotely operated capabilities across multiple domains.

Land

The land component of the parade featured a mix of legacy Soviet platforms and more recently acquired Western, Chinese, Turkish, and Middle Eastern systems. The display included armoured vehicles, mechanised platforms, artillery, engineering assets, and ground-based air-defence systems.

Air

The air component featured combat aircraft, transport aircraft, and helicopters. Fixed-wing assets included A-29 Super Tucano light attack aircraft, Su-25 ground-attack aircraft, M-346 advanced jet trainers, and C-27J Spartan tactical transports.

Rotary-wing assets included Mi-24P attack helicopters and Mi-17V-5 transport helicopters. The Ministry of Internal Affairs displayed EC145 helicopters, the Ministry of National Security displayed AS365 Dauphin helicopters, and the State Border Service displayed AW139 helicopters.

Unmanned capabilities

Commentary accompanying official Turkmen government footage identified the Point Blank precision-strike missile as one of the unmanned systems recently introduced into National Army service.