There have been many reports of the use of Turkish-made drones against LNA targets in Libya. Whether Turkish soldiers or GNA fighters are piloting them is unclear. Writing in September 2019 under the headline "Turkish Drones In Libya: Both A Strategy And A Family Matter," Turkish journalist Fethim Taştekin pointed out that the drones that are being shot down in Libya are Bayraktar TB2-type drones produced by Baykar, a Turkish firm headed by Selçuk Bayraktar, a son-in-law of President Erdoğan. Taştekin also wrote that "it is believed that Turkish-made drones reached Tripoli for the first time on May 18. It has been noted that four planes [i.e., drones] along with two control stations and their operators were deployed." This account contradicts an April 30 claim by an LNA spokesman that Turkish-made drones were in the country at that time.
The Bayraktar TB2 drone is produced by Baykar, a company headed by Erdoğan's son-in-law Selçuk Bayraktar.
On April 30, 2019, it was reported that an LNA spokesman had said that Turkey's AKP government had sent drones capable of carrying explosives to the "militias in Tripoli." On May 15, it was reported that Haftar had said that forces connected to the GNA were using Turkish-made drones. On July 26, Twitter user @TurkishArmedFcs posted images that appear to have been taken by drone showing buildings, some intact and some destroyed by explosions. The user wrote: "Images from after the GNA-linked Libyan Air Force, with the support of Bayraktar TB2 armed drones, struck Haftar's Al-Jafra airbase."
On August 16, it was reported that Haftar claimed that the LNA had struck a hangar housing Turkish drones and military equipment. The hangar was reportedly about a mile east of the Libyan village of Abu Kammash, near the Tunisian border. On September 13, the Libyan Air Force announced that they had shot down three Turkish drones in Misrata and destroyed all aircraft positions in the city. On September 14, the LNA said in a statement that a Turkish drone had killed three soldiers, whose ranks were colonel, major, and private, in an attack south of Tripoli. Under the headline "Turkish Strike To The Alliance Of Evil In Libya! Ottoman Slap To Haftar And The UAE" a Turkish daily known for its Islamist leanings reported this strike as part of a larger operation involving other aircraft in retaliation for the three downed drones the day before.
On October 2, LNA spokesman Ahmet Al-Mismari said that "a few" Turkish-made drones had been destroyed in an attack on airfields in Mitika and Misrata, Libya. On November 21, U.S. Africa Command reported that a drone flying over Tripoli had been lost. On November 26, the Turkish press reported that "Haftar-linked forces had shot down a U.S. drone, thinking it was a Turkish drone."
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