ISLAMABAD: Pakistan secured second place at an international military drone competition that took place in Ankara this week with 33 nations participating, the Turkish embassy in Islamabad said on Sunday.

The “Best International Military Drone Team Competition 2026 (BIMDTC-2026)” took place in Ankara on Saturday, according to Turkish newspaper Türkiye Today. The competition, the first of its kind, featured competitors from 33 nations around the world.

Turkiye won the first position while Pakistan finished second, Italy third and France secured the number four spot in the competition. Each country could enter a team of up to three people, including at least two First-Person View (FPV) pilots drawn from active duty or reserve military personnel, the Turkish newspaper said. Teams with the best course times qualified for the final.

“Congratulations to the Turkish team for securing 1st place and Pakistan for achieving 2nd place at the Best International Military Drone Team Competition 2026 (BIMDTC-2026) in Ankara, bringing together competitors from 33 different countries,” the Turkish embassy in Islamabad said on social media platform X.

“The outstanding performances of the Turkish and Pakistani teams stand as yet another testament to their skill, precision and growing expertise in the field of unmanned aerial systems,” it added.

Pakistan and Türkiye enjoy close cooperation in the defense and military domains. Pakistan’s military has extensively relied on drones in conflicts, with the South Asian country deploying them in its brief conflict with India in May 2025.

Pakistan depended on Turkish-origin YIHA-III and Asisguard Songar drones, as well as the Shahpar-II UAV produced domestically by the state-owned Global Industrial & Defense Solutions conglomerate, according to Reuters.

Pakistan and Türkiye have also sought closer defense ties over the past few months. As the Houthi attacks grow with the US-Iran conflict persisting, Islamabad, Ankara and Riyadh signed a trilateral defense pact in Makkah in August.

The pact stipulates that any attack against one of the three nations that are part of the agreement, will be constituted as an attack against them all.

The pact formalized decades of security cooperation between the three nations.