Turkish firm opens drone factory in Ankara

By Goksel Yildirim

ANKARA (AA) - A drone manufacturing plant started operations on Friday in Turkey's capital Ankara.

Lapis Havacilik, a Turkish aviation company, develops indigenous and unique unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), commonly known as drones. It was established in 2015.

The firm's 3,500-square-meter (4,185-square-yard) plant has already begun mass production of drones.

Its top models are VTOL, which can fly for up to five hours, and LAP 60, which can fly for up to one hour within the range of 10 kilometers (6.2 miles).

These drones can be used for agriculture, rescue missions, communication and freight.

Turkey is well known in the field of drones with globally recognized firms, Baykar and TAI.

Turkey's defense and aviation exports were around $3 billion last year.

The country's seven defense firms are among the top 100 defense firms globally.

*Writing and contributions by Gokhan Ergocun from Istanbul