Turkish armed UAV surpasses 300,000-hour-flight

By Gokhan Ergocun

ISTANBUL (AA) - A Turkish armed unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) surpassed 300,000 hours of flight, the producer company, Bayraktar's chief technology officer, said on Monday.

Selcuk Bayraktar tweeted that the UAV, named Bayraktar TB2, was used for several Turkish military operations, such as Euphrates Shield, Olive Branch, and Spring Shield.

The country's cutting-edge drone technologies provide cost and strategic advantages and reduce casualties in military operations.

With over 300,000-hour-flight data, the drone has broken a record in Turkey's aviation history.

Bayraktar TB2, which entered the Turkish army's inventory in 2014, is currently used by Turkey, Ukraine, Qatar, and Azerbaijan.

The drone is produced with mostly local sources after certain foreign suppliers have started to implement embargoes due to Turkey's support for Azerbaijan in the recent Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

In recent years, Turkey's defense and aviation companies made significant achievements in the research and development, as well as production and export. Turkey is among six the countries in the world that can produce own UAVs.

Last year, Baykar alone exported aviation systems worth $360 million.