Turkey's Ateş Serbest Exercise Showcases Unmanned Aircraft

The Ateş Serbest exercise took place at the General Nahit Şenoğul Firing and Exercise Area in Ankara, Turkey, with demonstrations that included drones, artillery, F-16 strikes and air-defense platforms.

Key details

• A Turkish Ministry of Defense brochure described the exercise’s aims as coordinating fire support, presenting weapons and systems, demonstrating their effects and providing deterrence.
• Turkish Aerospace Industries’ Ayaz is described as a turbojet-powered, one-way attack unmanned aerial vehicle.
• The Super Şimşek UAV reportedly flew with a warhead during the exercise, after its maiden flight in 2023.

Why it matters

The demonstrations put Turkish unmanned aircraft among the systems presented in a military exercise that also featured crewed aircraft, artillery and air-defense platforms.

What happens next

No further timeline was announced.