Turkey's own drones make first flight on Turkish-Iraqi border

Turkey's first indigenous unmanned surveillance drone planes have made maiden, military sources said on Monday.

The drones, popularly know as Anka (or Phoenix), have taken off from military bases in the southeastern provinces of Sirnak and Silopi, and have flown over along the Turkish-Iraqi border and a mountainous area inside Turkey, sources said.

Sources said the drones are considered as invaluable assets for armed forces in the fight against PKK and cross-border smuggling.

The drones are capable of flying at an altitude of 20 thousand feet and they can communicate with the command center within a 100-kilometer radius via indigenous software and equipment.

Sources say the Turkish-made UAVs would remarkably reduce dependence on foreign technology.

In 2005, Turkey signed a deal with Israel Defense Industries to buy ten Heron type UAVs worth more than $180 million.


/World Bulletin/