Turkey Deploys Anka Drone Fitted with Mine-detection Radar in Black Sea

The Turkish military has deployed the Anka combat drone to detect floating naval mines in the Black Sea.

Ismail Demir, head of the Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB), tweeted on Tuesday, saying that the drone will be used to detect mines so they can be defused by Turkey’s elite Underwater Defense (SAS) teams. Ankara has so far found three stray naval mines in the Black Sea.

The Black Sea is bordered by Bulgaria, Romania, Georgia and Turkey, as well as Ukraine and Russia. Ukraine and Russia have accused each other of laying mines in the sea, and in late March, Turkish and Romanian military diving teams defused stray mines around their waters.

The Anka, which is in service with the Turkish Naval Forces Command (DzKK), has been integrated with synthetic aperture radar (SAR).

The SAR was developed by Turkish defense giant Aselsan and is an airborne radar system used for high-resolution ground imaging and detection of moving targets on the ground. SAR systems are valuable in airborne surveillance applications, allowing for effective 24/7 imaging under all kinds of adverse weather conditions.