Gonul: "Turkey's dependence on foreign-made unmanned aerial vehicles is at an end"

Turkey's dependence on foreign-made unmanned aerial vehicles is at an end, said Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul yesterday, after the signing of a protocol between the Defense Industry Undersecretariat and Vestel Defense Corporation to develop a tactical unmanned aerial vehicle for the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK). "I'm happy to say that, with the mini and tactical unmanned aerial vehicles and ANKA unmanned aerial vehicle manufactured by the Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI), Turkey 's dependence on foreign sources for the supply of its unmanned aerial vehicles has ended," Gonul said. Vestel invested $25 million in the project prior to the protocol, which is set to develop an unmanned aerial vehicle called Karayel able to fly 20 hours continuously at an altitude of 22,000 feet. Calling the protocol a milestone, Vestel Defense CEO Aziz Sipahi said, "We want to develop Karayel for export to various countries."