Azerbaijan is planning to acquire Turkish-made combat drones, the Azeri defence minister said, after Baku’s parliament approved a bill to purchase arms from Turkey, EDNews.net reports citing Ahval News.

“Efforts in this direction (for the purchase of the drones) are continuing. Now we are having results,” Defense News reported on Thursday, quoting Zakir Hasanov during a visit to Ankara on Monday.

Turkish sources told the U.S. magazine Azerbaijan was interested the Bayraktar TB2, a medium-altitude, long-range tactical unmanned drone that had a crucial role in Turkey’s military support to Libya’s internationally-recognised government.

The drone can also be used for reconnaissance and intelligence-gathering missions.

Azerbaijan, a close ally of Turkey, is seeking to outmanoeuvre neighbouring rival Armenia in a military build-up in the heavily contested Nagorno-Karabakh region, and has recently acquired Turkish-made multiple-launch rocket systems (MLRS).

Azerbaijan and Armenia remain in dispute over the occupied Karabakh region, which broke away from Azerbaijan in 1991 with Armenian military support.

“Turkish armed drones have been a successful game changer in the Libyan civil war in favour of the side Turkey supports,” an unnamed security analyst told Defense News.

“Azerbaijan apparently is keen to use the Turkish drones to reshape military balances (in the south Caucasus) in its favour.”