The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) has sent a letter to the US State Department calling on to suspend the sale of components included in the Turkish Bayraktar TB2 drones to Turkey, ANCA reported on Facebook.

The ANCA sent an urgent appeal to the U.S. Department of State office responsible for approving/rejecting requests for foreign arms sales—based on evidence from the battlefield that Turkish Bayraktar TB2 UAVs contain U.S.-made components—including the LN-200 IMU - Inertial Measurement Unit, manufactured by Northrop Grumman Corporation.

Turkish Bayraktar TB2 UAVs—deployed to Azerbaijan in large numbers—have been used to attack and kill Armenian civilians, in both Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) and Armenia.

The aforesaid letter addressed to R. Clarke Cooper, Assistant Secretary for Political-Military Affairs at the U.S. Department of State, reads as follows in particular:

“It is clear now that Turkey – responding to Canada’s October 5, 2020 decision to suspend arms export licenses due to Ankara’s overt participation in Azerbaijan’s ongoing offensive against Artsakh and Armenia – is seeking to circumvent this ban by requesting expedited U.S. approval for the sale of components for its Bayraktar TB2 UAVs.

Turkey’s requests should be rejected, and a total U.S. ban announced on the sale or transfer of any U.S. military or dual-use equipment to Ankara for as long as it is arming or otherwise supporting Azerbaijani attacks.

Additionally, the Department of State should immediately investigate potential Arms Export Control Act and other violations of U.S. statutes related to the sale or unauthorized third-party

transfer of U.S.-made components (LN-200 IMU - Inertial Measurement Unit, manufactured by Northrop Grumman) in the Canadian cameras mounted on Bayraktar TB2 UAVs (WESCAM MX15D, manufactured by the Canadian subsidiary of L3Harris Technologies).”