Around 16:00 on May 19, 2024, news agencies began reporting the loss of communication with the chopper carrying the President of Iran and the Minister of Foreign Affairs. This immediately drew the attention of the global public, anxiously awaiting official updates from Tehran. Hundreds of search and rescue elements were deployed, but hours passed without finding any traces or signs of the life of President Ibrahim Raisi and his entourage. The search was hindered by several factors, including bad weather conditions, difficult terrain, and the lack of high-tech equipment. Despite their efforts, the search-and-rescue teams were nowhere near finding the crash site.
About twelve hours after losing track of the President’s helicopter, officials from the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs requested night vision for rescue operations from the Turkish Ministry of National Defense. In response, Turkish authorities decided to deploy the Bayraktar Akıncı A5 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to Iran. The Akıncı A5 arrived at the suspected crash site at 00:45 on Monday and commenced search operations. It scanned the area and identified locations with traces of heat, sharing these coordinates with Iranian authorities at 02:37, allowing the search efforts to focus on these points. By 05:46, the wreckage of the chopper-carrying President Raisi was found at the coordinates provided by the Akıncı. Officials who reached the site reported that nine people, including President Raisi and Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, had been killed.
This remarkable feat brought Türkiye’s Akıncı UAVs to the global limelight again. Over the past 20 years, the Turkish defence industry has made tremendous breakthroughs, fulfilling a good chunk of Türkiye’s military needs. The journey started in 2002 when authorities decided to rely on the country’s indigenous industry as part of the “national technology movement.” Türkiye’s armament industries have made significant strides since then, particularly in the production and development of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), which includes models such as Akıncı, Aksungur, ANKA, Bayraktar, and Karayel.
The Akıncı model, developed by Baykar Defence, is among the most known Turkish UAVs. Making its first flight in 2019, it entered the Turkish Armed Forces inventory in 2021. The Akıncı features a 20-meter wingspan, a maximum take-off weight of 5,500 kg, and can reach altitudes up to 40,000 feet (approximately 12,200 meters) with a range of 7,500 km. Capable of staying airborne for up to 24 hours, it is powered by a twin turboprop engine and can carry a payload of 1,350 kg, including various ammunition and smart bombs. Equipped with high-tech sensors and communication systems, the Akıncı is suited for missions involving intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, target detection and destruction, electronic warfare, and signal intelligence.
Notable for its endurance, high-altitude operation, versatility, and reduction of foreign dependency through domestic technologies, the Akıncı is exported to Türkiye’s friendly and allied countries, in addition to serving the Turkish Armed Forces and security forces.
Akıncı UAVs have played critical roles in Türkiye’s military and police operations. These unmanned aerial vehicles are effectively utilised in attack missions as well as intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions. In the eastern and southeastern regions of Türkiye, Akıncı UAVs are extensively employed to detect and track terrorist elements as part of counter-terrorism efforts. They also play a crucial role in border security operations, conducting patrol flights to prevent illegal crossings and terrorist infiltration along the Syrian and Iraqi borders. Additionally, during the earthquakes in Türkiye in February 2022, Akıncı and Bayraktar TB2 UAVs were deployed to assess damage from the air, flying for a total of 2,417 hours and 6 minutes.
While the Akıncı A5 was conducting the debris search, Türkiye’s Anadolu Agency broadcast the footage live on X, attracting millions of viewers. Approximately 2.5 million people followed the live broadcast, and around 200,000 tracked the flight on the FlightRadar24 application, resulting in a total of over 2.7 million followers.
During the search efforts to retrieve the Presidential chopper, fake news circulated in the Iranian media claiming there was no wreckage at the coordinates provided by the Akıncı. However, Turkish media refuted these baseless claims by sharing the high-resolution images and videos captured by the Akıncı. The Turkish Akıncı UAV demonstrated its effectiveness by locating the wreckage and flying at low altitude despite adverse weather conditions.
Although there have been some highs and lows in bilateral relations, Iranian and Turkish authorities always maintain communication to reduce tensions. Following the late President Raisi’s visit to Türkiye on January 24, 2024, both leaders agreed on a “joint fight against terrorism” and committed to cooperating on this front. Additionally, during the same meeting, they set a trade target of $30 billion in the energy sector.
After the tragic death of President Raisi, Vice President Muhammad Mokhber has been mandated by Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to become Iran’s acting President. Although Raisi’s death has caused a shock in Iran, the state’s institutions will continue working without disruption. During the search for the wreckage, Supreme Leader Khamenei announced on X account that “The nation doesn’t need to be worried or anxious as the administration of the country will not be disrupted at all”. According to the Iranian constitution, elections must be held within 50 days. After the elections, the larger picture will become clearer, but no surprises are expected in light of the tight grip of the conservative factions over power.
Despite the tragic nature of this episode, Akıncı’s high-tech capabilities boosted Türkiye’s status in the region, bolstered by the goodwill and brotherly conduct demonstrated by Ankara in the process. Another important lesson to be learned from this episode is that UAVs, in the hands of capable leaders, can contribute to upholding human dignity in peace and in war.
