Türkiye to develop drones to fight forest fires

Türkiye’s defence industry has begun work on developing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) capable of directly tackling forest fires from the air by dropping water.

TodayPress TV reports that Türkiye’s Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, Ibrahim Yumakli, made the announcement during a meeting with journalists in Istanbul.

According to the minister, the project will be carried out in cooperation with the Defence Industry Agency. UAVs are currently used to detect and monitor forest fires. The new project aims to develop drones capable of directly intervening in fires from the air and dropping water on them.

Yumakli said the technology is not yet widely used around the world. Although some similar systems manufactured in China are available, he noted that they are mainly used in flat and easily accessible areas.

The minister also thanked Baykar, noting that the company’s Bayraktar TB2 UAVs are used to detect fires in Türkiye and that it provides technical support.

It should be noted that on October 15, Türkiye’s Defence Industry Agency also issued an official request for information regarding firefighting systems to be integrated into UAVs. The document envisages equipping existing UAVs with specialised equipment to extinguish fires in forests and open areas.

Jala Rovshan