Turkey successfully tests locally made drones

By Goksel Yildrim

ANKARA (AA) - Turkish-made unmanned aerial vehicles, equipped with the latest smart ammunition systems, were successfully tested on Sunday, officials of an Istanbul-based company said.

The smart ammunition systems loaded to the Armed Bayraktar TB2 drones were able to hit targets 8 kilometers (4.9 miles) away, said Baykar Makina officials who did not want to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

The drones, which have been in the inventory of the Turkish Armed Forces, the gendarmerie and the police since 2014, have completed 20,000 hours of flight.

In each sortie, they can fly up to 27 hours, and can be used in domestic and foreign missions.

The drone and its electronic, software, aerodynamic design and sub-systems have been developed and produced by Turkey.

The smart ammunition system MAM-L, loaded onto the drones, has been developed by Turkey’s missile-maker Roketsan.

Turkey has become one of the top countries in the world to be self-sufficient in drone technology.