Canadian export freeze on Turkey extends to UAV engines
Canadian company bans sales of UAV engines manufactured in Austria
Canada-based Bombardier Recreational Products (BRP) is suspending exports to Turkey of engines produced by its Austrian subsidiary Rotax.
The engines are being used on Bayraktar TB2 UCAVs, but BRP insists that they are certified for commercial use only. However, EU dual-use export rules do not list this type of engine as requiring an approval permit – so Austrian legislation does not prohibit sales to Turkey for installation on UCAVs.
‘We have recently been made aware that some Rotax engines are currently used in military UAVs, and have started a thorough investigation immediately,’ Martin Langelier, BPR’s senior vice president and the company’s spokesperson, told state-owned Radio Canada International on 25 October.
‘In the meantime, we are suspending delivery of aircraft engines in countries with unclear usage.’
Bayraktar TB2s are being used extensively by Azerbaijan in its ongoing conflict with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh. The UCAVs contain Canadian components; on 5 October, the Canadian government announced it was freezing defence equipment exports to Turkey.
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