Israel withdrew its operators from Turkey last week after Turkey’s strong reaction to the flotilla raid, which resulted in the deaths of nine civilian peace activists. The Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) put plan B into operation after the Israeli response and are using authorized unmanned aerial vehicles (İHAs) produced by the Turkish Baykar Company to gather intelligence. The aircraft have already begun gathering intelligence in the Southeast, where tension is currently high because the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) has increased attacks.
The İHA aircraft has a range of 15 kilometers, a flying speed of 55 kilometers per hour and can fly at altitudes of up to 12,000 feet. The İHAs, which are equipped with thermal and daytime cameras, transmit intelligence gathered to ground stations.
The Baykar and Kale Kalıp companies are also currently working on another İHA for the TSK. The aircraft, which is named Çaldıran, will have features superior to the current İHAs. The new İHAs will surpass Herons with some of its qualifications.
Turkey had agreed in 2004 to buy 10 Heron unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for over $180 million from Israeli companies IAI and Elbit. However, the Israeli firms missed the deadline for delivery. The Israeli companies were expected to deliver four Herons in August 2009, followed by another two and then the last four by the end of October 2009. However, this deadline was missed, and the Israeli Herons that were delivered failed to reach the predicted aerial elevations or to fulfill the maximum flight times detailed in the agreement.
