File image.
An Aksungur combat drone of the Turkish Air Force took off from Damascus International Airport near the Syrian capital on April 30, according to aviation traffic data from Flightradar24 and other monitoring sites.
Directly after taking off, the Aksungur headed north towards Turkish airspace, which indicated that the flight was meant to test the operational compatibility of the airport.
The event marked the first time a Turkish combat drone of any type has been documented taking off from an airport in Syria.
Click to see full-size image. (Flightradar24/X)
The Aksungur, developed by Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI), is one of Turkey’s largest combat drones. The drone has a range of 6,500 kilometers and an endurance of up to 49 hours. It can be armed with a wide range of munitions, including guided glide bombs with a stand-off range.
Click to see full-size image.
Following the fall of the regime of former president Bashar al-Assad, Turkey emerged as the main ally of the Syrian Transnational Government which was formed by Islamist rebels it backed for years. Ankara is now playing a leading role in the rebuilding of the country’s forces.
The presence of Turkish forces at Damascus International Airport is not surprising. In January, Hebrew media reported that Turkey deployed an advanced civilian radar system at the airport, warning that it could limit Turkey’s freedom of action in Syrian airspace.
Prior reports from last year revealed Turkish plans to arm government forces in Syria with advanced weapons, including drones.
The deployment of Turkish combat drones at Damascus International Airport — located in southern Syria — will be a direct challenge to Israel, who just a few months after the fall of the Assad regime bombed several bases in western and central Syria to prevent Ankara from establishing a military presence there.
One of the bases bombed in the central region at the time was Palmyra Military Airport. Rumors from recent weeks suggest that Turkey is again working to take over it.
Israel is yet to address recent Turkish military activities in Syria. This could be due to some agreement with Ankara, especially considering several rounds of talks held with Damascus over the past year. It could also be due to an Israeli desire to focus solely on Iran and its allies for the time being.
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