Turkey expands drone fleet with locally made UAVs
Turkey has expanded its fleet of unmanned aerial vehicles with locally made armed drones amid President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s efforts to achieve military self-sufficiency.
Turkey's military on Sunday took delivery of Akinci, Turkish for “raider”, which is made by private drone maker, Baykar.
It is the most advanced and sophisticated drone developed by Turkey so far.
Baykar says Akinci can attack targets in the air and on the ground, and operate alongside fighter jets, flying higher and staying in the air longer than Turkey’s existing UAVs.
The drones will carry various weaponry, including a range of missiles developed by Turkish contractor Roketsan.
Selcuk Bayraktar, Erdogan’s son-in-law, is Baykar’s chief technology officer.
“With the Akinci, Turkey has become one of the top three countries in the world producing that technology,” Erdogan said during the delivery ceremony in the northwestern city of Corlu.
Bayraktar Akıncı TİHA hayırlı uğurlu olsun. 🇹🇷 pic.twitter.com/ssLVszoxTW
— Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (@RTErdogan) August 29, 2021
The Akinci is more advanced than Baykar’s Bayraktar TB2 UCAV, which has been sold to countries including Ukraine, Qatar, Azerbaijan and Poland.
Bayraktar TB2 UCAVs were used in Ankara’s lengthy conflict with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militant group in the country’s southeast as well as the conflicts in Libya and Azerbaijan.
“Many more countries are waiting in line for our national UCAVs,” Erdogan said.
Erdgoan said the defense industry will be a locomotive of every other success that Turkey will achieve in the period ahead.
“Cutting the defense industry’s external dependency to 20% from 80% in such short time is one of greatest achievements in the history of the Republic.”
PKK claims deadly attack on Turkey’s aerospace firm
Turkey’s aerospace company targeted in ‘terror attack,’ 4 killed
US-based Turkish president’s arch-rival Gulen dies aged 83
US surgeon haunted by Gaza children with ‘single gunshot wounds to head’
VIDEO | Fatal Harvest: Escalating attacks on Palestinian farmers in the occupied West Bank
Hamas rejects temporary truce offer, calls for complete ceasefire in Gaza
Iran among top nuclear technology countries: AEOI chief
Democrats 'risk losing' election for backing Israeli war on Gaza, Lebanon: US journalist
Protesters remove busts of Israel's first president from Manchester Univ.
VIDEO | Hezbollah drones
US involvement in Israel’s 'regional war' unconstitutional, lawmakers tell Biden
PressTV NEWSLETTER
now
This makes it easy to access the Press TV website
