On November 24, the Kurdish Syrian Hawar News Agency (ANHA) released a video showing an advanced Turkish ANKA-S unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) flying over northern Raqqa.
The video shows the UCAV flying over the key town of Ain Issa, which was attacked by Turkish-backed militants a day earlier. Several Turkish airstrikes targeted the town’s outskirt in the last 48 hours.
Developed by Turkish Aerospace Industries, the ANKA-S has a range of 1448 km and an endurance of up to 24 hours with a service ceiling of 9,144 m.
The UCAV can be armed with a variety of weapons, including the Turkish-made MAM-L, a small-diameter laser-guided munition. The one in the video appeared to be armed.
Turkey has been relying on UCAVs to provide close air support to militants of the so-called Syrian National Army (SAN) during operations against Kurdish forces in northeast Syria.
Turkish UCAV attacks on northeast Syria have reportedly resulted in civilian casualties. On November 9, two civilians were killed in a strike on northern Raqqa. A similar strike claimed lives of at least two other civilians on November 20.
