Turkey, a relentless outspoken critic of what it describes as Israel’s “genocidal” war on Palestinian territory Gaza, nevertheless consented to Turkish defence contractor Baykar—owned by a son-in-law of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his brother—joining Israeli state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and Qatari defence contractor Barzan Holdings in co-sponsoring a defence exhibition in Azerbaijan.

The 5^th edition of Azerbaijan’s International Defense Exhibition (ADEX), held from September 24-26 at the Baku Expo Center, showcased military and security technology from 270 companies from 40 countries.

The event was organised by Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Defence, a big buyer of Israeli and Turkish military hardware.

Present at ADEX were numerous Israeli arms companies, including Elbit Systems, Rafael and Uvision UAV.

Baykar, known internationally for its Bayraktar combat drones, deployed by Azerbaijan in its wars with Armenian forces, is run by Erdogan’s son-in-law Selcuk Bayraktar and elder brother Haluk Bayraktar.

Haluk Bayraktar, who serves as Baykar’s CEO, reacted defiantly when confronted by criticism over the co-sponsorship of the exhibition, according to a September 30 report from Turkish daily BirGun.

Bakar’s role as a co-sponsor at the defence fair "can only be a source of pride", he was reported as saying.

"We are determined not to let our nation's national achievements fall victim to social media operations. The dominant role of Turkish companies and their presence as major sponsors at the ADEX International Defense Fair in Azerbaijan is the most tangible proof of this success. This is something we can only be proud of," he was further cited as saying.

In a post on social media platform X, Haluk Bayraktar claimed the criticism was part of a “false flag” operation.

Secretary of the state’s Turkish Defence Industries Directorate (SSB) Haluk Gorgun also addressed the criticism on social media, stating: "These types of provocations are part of efforts to discredit the global successes of our defence industry. These ugly campaigns, conducted by ignoring the facts, cannot harm our national goals nor shake the determination of our people."

Turkey, meanwhile, remains under fire for continuing to facilitate the export of Azerbaijani oil to Israel via its port of Ceyhan on the Mediterranean coast, despite its stated abhorrence over Israel’s actions against the Palestinians.

Erdogan’s criticisms of Israel in the past week have included calls for the United Nations to arrange a military intervention against Israeli forces and a warning to Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu that “like Hitler”, he will be stopped sooner or later.