 TAI Anka-S drone of the Turkish Air Force | |
| Occurrence | |
|---|---|
| Date | 5 October 2023 |
| Summary | Shot-down by an US F-16 |
| Site | near Tell Beydar, Hasakah Governorate, Syria |
On 5 October 2023, at approximately 11:30 AM local time, a Turkish combat drone was shot down by a United States Air Force F-16 near US forces in the Al-Hasakah region of Syria. [1] [2]
Turkey has frequently criticized the United States for providing aid to the Kurdish YPG in Syria, which Turkey views as a terrorist organization allied with the outlawed PKK. Following the 2023 Ankara bombing, Turkey began to launch airstrikes on targets in the SDF-controlled zones of Syria. Turkey has stated that a ground operation in Kurdish-controlled zones of Syria is an option that it could consider in retaliation for the 2023 Ankara bombing. [2] [3]
According to US officials cited by Politico, a Turkish Bayraktar TB2 [1] drone was being used in Syria near the position of US troops. The United States attempted to contact Turkey a dozen times to warn them, but to no avail. They then resolved to shoot down the drone using an F-16. [4] The US claimed that the drone had been flying in an "unsynchronized" and "unsafe" way. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and local sources confirmed that a Turkish drone was shot down by US forces. [2] [5] [6]
In the vicinity of Al-Hasakah, Syria, several Turkish strikes occurred at 7:30 AM local time, with some of them inside a US-declared restricted operating zone. The drones were situated approximately one kilometer away from US forces, prompting them to relocate to bunkers. Later, at 11:30 AM local time, a Turkish drone initially identified as a Bayraktar TB2 breached the restricted operating zone once again. U.S. commanders evaluated the drone as a "possible threat," resulting in the F-16 shooting it down. [7] The drone model of the combat drone was identified as a TAI Anka-S drone afterwards in more precise reports. [8] [9] [10]
Turkey's Defense Minister denied that the drone was of Turkish origin but did not provide an explanation about its source. [2] The Pentagon stated that the shooting down of the drone was a "regrettable incident" and that it was done in self-defense. The Defense Ministers of both the United States and Turkey held a call together to discuss the matter. [1] According to the Turkish Defence Minister, the US F-16 that destroyed the drone took off from Jordan and not from the US base at Inçirlik, Turkey. [11]
On 10 October, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the president of Turkey, said : [12]
"The US downed Türkiye's UAV in Syria. Isn't Türkiye US' NATO ally? How do we make sense of this? The US acts like a partner whenever it wants to but trains terrorist groups in Syria at other times."
He also said that Turkey would do what is "necessary" after this act. [13] [14]
An unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV), also known as a combat drone, colloquially shortened as drone or battlefield UAV, is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that is used for intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance and carries aircraft ordnance such as missiles, ATGMs, and/or bombs in hardpoints for drone strikes. These drones are usually under real-time human control, with varying levels of autonomy. Unlike unmanned surveillance and reconnaissance aerial vehicles, UCAVs are used for both drone strikes and battlefield intelligence.
The Turkish Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the Turkish Armed Forces. It traces its origins to June 1911 when it was founded as the Ottoman Aviation Squadrons by the Ottoman Empire. It was composed of the Army Aviation Squadrons founded in 1911, and the Naval Aviation Squadrons founded in 1914 which used seaplanes. The Air Force as a branch of the Turkish Armed Forces was founded by the Grand National Assembly of Turkey on 23 April 1920. It is considered to be the third largest air force in NATO.
The TAI Anka is a family of unmanned aerial vehicles developed by Turkish Aerospace Industries primarily for the Turkish Air Force. Envisioned in the early 2000s for aerial surveillance and reconnaissance missions, Anka has evolved into a modular platform with synthetic aperture radar, precise weapons and satellite communication.
The Syrian Air Defence Force, officially the Syrian Arab Air Defence Force is an independent command within the Syrian Armed Forces. It is responsible for protecting the Syrian airspace against any hostile air attacks. The SyADF is one of the most powerful and combat-tested Air Defence forces in the region.
The Bayraktar UAV or Bayraktar UCAV is a family of unmanned aerial vehicles designed and manufactured by Turkish company Baykar. The UAVs were developed for the Turkish Armed Forces from 2004 until the present. Some models are designed for surveillance and reconnaissance only, others are capable of tactical ground-strike missions. Baykar is also developing drones to counter other aerial systems. The word bayraktar means flag-bearer in Turkish.
On 22 September 2014, the United States officially intervened in the Syrian civil war with the objective of fighting the Islamic State as part of Operation Inherent Resolve in the international war against the Islamic State. The U.S. also supports the Syrian rebels and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces opposed to both the Islamic State and Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.
Turkey's involvement in the Syrian civil war began diplomatically and later escalated militarily. Initially, Turkey condemned the Syrian government at the outbreak of civil unrest in Syria during the spring of 2011; the Turkish government's involvement gradually evolved into military assistance for the Free Syrian Army in July 2011, border clashes in 2012, and direct military interventions in 2016–17, in 2018, in 2019, 2020, and in 2022. The military operations have resulted in the Turkish occupation of northern Syria since August 2016.
AANES–Syria relations concern the military and political relations between the Ba'athist Syrian Arab Republic and the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (NES), a de facto autonomous multi-ethnic region in northern and eastern Syria. The Syrian government does not officially recognise the autonomy of the AANES, and advocates a centralist approach to the governance of Syria. The NES seeks the federalisation of Syria. For most of the Syrian civil war, there has been a non-aggression pact between the military of Syria and the Syrian Democratic Forces, with occasional confrontations and some cooperation against Islamist groups, in particular against the Turkish Armed Forces and the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army.
The following is a timeline of the Syrian Civil War from January to April 2018. Information about aggregated casualty counts is found at Casualties of the Syrian Civil War.
Baykar is a private Turkish defence company specialising in UAVs, C4I and artificial intelligence.
The Bayraktar TB2 is a medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) capable of remotely controlled or autonomous flight operations. It is manufactured by the Turkish company Baykar Makina Sanayi ve Ticaret A.Ş., primarily for the Turkish Armed Forces. The aircraft are monitored and controlled by an aircrew in a ground control station, including weapons employment. The development of the UAV has been largely credited to Selçuk Bayraktar, a former MIT graduate student.
The American intervention in the Syrian civil war is the United States-led support of Syrian opposition and the Federation of Northern Syria during the course of the Syrian Civil War and active military involvement led by the United States and its allies — the militaries of the United Kingdom, France, Jordan, Turkey, Canada, Australia and more — against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and al-Nusra Front since 2014. Since early 2017, the U.S. and other Coalition partners have also targeted the Syrian government and its allies via airstrikes and aircraft shoot-downs.
On 27 February 2020, during the Dawn of Idlib 2 Operation, a joint airstrike was executed by the Russian and Syrian Air Forces against a convoy of the Turkish Army stationed in Balyun, within the Idlib Governorate. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan reported that the assault resulted in the loss of 36 Turkish soldiers. However, alternative sources suggested a significantly higher death toll, ranging from 50 to 100 casualties, marking it as the most lethal attack on Turkish forces since their engagement in the Syrian Civil War commenced. The assault also inflicted injuries on an estimated 36 to 60 soldiers, with 16 of them reported to be in a critical state. This incident represented the most substantial loss of life experienced by the Turkish Army on foreign territory since the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974. In response to this attack, the Turkish Armed Forces initiated Operation Spring Shield in the province of Idlib.
Operation Spring Shield was a cross-border military operation carried out by the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) in the Idlib Governorate of northwestern Syria against the Syrian Armed Forces and allied militias. The operation was launched on 27 February 2020 in direct response to the Balyun airstrikes, aiming to address the escalating situation in the region.
Selçuk Bayraktar is a Turkish engineer and businessman. He is the chairman of the board and the chief technology officer of the Turkish technology company Baykar. He is also known as the architect of Turkey's first indigenous unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) Bayraktar TB2 and first unmanned fighter jet Bayraktar Kızılelma. Bayraktar is also the founding chairman of the Turkish Technology Team Foundation.
On 20 November 2022 the Turkish Air Force launched Operation Claw-Sword, a series of airstrikes against Syrian Democratic Forces and Syrian Army positions in Northern Syria and against Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) positions in Northern Iraq. The airstrikes were launched following the 2022 Istanbul bombing on 13 November, that the Turkish government say was conducted by Kurdish separatists.
On 1 October 2023, a suicide bombing occurred in front of the General Directorate of Security building, in the Turkish capital Ankara, injuring two police officers. The bomber's companion, who was also planning to blow himself up, was shot and killed by police before he could detonate his explosive. Prior to the attack, the perpetrators reportedly hijacked a vehicle in Kayseri and killed its driver before driving to Ankara. The PKK claimed responsibility for the attack.
Starting on 5 October 2023, the Turkish Armed Forces launched a series of air and ground strikes targeting the Syrian Democratic Forces in Northeastern Syria. The airstrikes were launched in response to the 2023 Ankara bombing, which the Turkish government alleges was carried out by attackers originating from Northeastern Syria.
