As part of the search and rescue operation of the President of Iran, Ebrahim Raisí, the Turkish Air Force provided support with a Bayraktar Akinci combat drone (UCAV) to find the crashed helicopter. It is worth remembering that the geography and weather conditions made the search tasks difficult, which resulted in the tragic death of its crew members.
Yesterday, the helicopter carrying President Iran along with the country’s Foreign Minister, Hossein Amirabdollahian, the governor of the Iranian province of Oriental Azerbaijan, and other officials, disappeared in a mountainous and difficult-to-access area near Varzeqan, in the northwest of the country. Given the incident, the country began an intense search with specialized teams that led the Iranian authorities to request support from Turkey.
In this regard, a UCAV Akinci unmanned combat aerial vehicle and an AS532 Cougar equipped with night vision systems were assigned to participate in search and rescue activities for the crashed helicopter of the President of Iran and his delegation.
In the statement made by the Turkish Ministry of National Defense, it was stated: “Based on the request made by the Iranian authorities through our Ministry of Foreign Affairs, an AKINCI UAV and a Cougar type helicopter with night vision capability to participate in search and rescue activities for the crashed helicopter of the President of Iran and his delegation.”
During the reconnaissance work, and after more than seven hours, Akinci managed to detect a heat source that led to the sharing of the coordinates and later to the meeting of the helicopter carrying the president and his delegation. It should be noted that none of the crew members were found alive.
About the UCAV Bayraktar Akinci:
The Bayraktar Akinci had its first flight on December 6, 2019 and by August 29, 2021 it was already part of the inventory of the Turkish Army. To date it has more than 50,000 flight hours, and is used not only by Turkey, since it has already been incorporated by the Azerbaijan Air Force, later joined by Ethiopia and Saudi Arabia.
The Baykar Akıncı is a high-altitude, long-range UCAV, designed to carry out various missions on the battlefield. With a maximum takeoff weight of more than 5.5 tons, of which more than 1,350 kilograms are destined for its payload, it stands out for its versatility and ability to face different operational challenges thanks to its wide range of available weapons. An example of the latter, thanks to the photographs released by the Azerbaijan Air Force, is the integration and launch capacity of MAM-T guided munitions, Cakir cruise missiles and SOM, provided by the Turkish firm Roketsan.
Equipped with two engine configurations, 450 or 750 HP of power, the Akinci can reach a service ceiling of up to 13,000 meters and a cruising speed of up to 280 km/h. In addition, it is equipped with electronic support and countermeasure systems, dual satellite communication systems, AESA-type air-to-air radars and collision avoidance radar, as well as an advanced locally manufactured synthetic aperture.
*Cover photograph used as for illustration purposes.
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