Erdogan says Fırtına artillery unit, UAVs nightmare for terrorists PHOTO

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that Türkiye-presented Fırtına and UAVs have become a nightmare for terrorists.

He made the remarks at a ceremony to hand over a batch of domestic self-propelled artillery units Fırtına of a new generation to the armed forces, Anadolu reports.

"Turkish UAVs are changing the rules of warfare around the world with success achieved in a wide range, from the victory in Karabakh to Libya, from the fight against terrorism to special operations, 2023 will be a busy and important year. Our national fighter will come out of the hangar, and the Hürjet combat training aircraft will make its first flight and will be delivered to Anadolu - the world's first carrier of unmanned aircraft," he said.

The ceremony took place on the territory of the Turkish National Defence Ministry's production complex "Arifiye"  in the northwestern province of Sakarya.

Domestic self-propelled guns of the current model are successfully used by the Turkish army in the zones of anti-terrorist operations in Syria and Iraq, and thanks to an improved system of guidance and delivery of shells, the effectiveness of fire damage to artillery units of the Turkish Armed Forces will increase, the president noted.

"Today we are handing over six new self-propelled guns to the command of the Turkish Armed Forces. In the next two years, these installations will also be provided with domestic engines and transmission systems developed by BMC Power," Erdogan said, noting that another well-known Turkish defence company ASELSAN was involved in the project of improving artillery installations.

In general, it is planned to produce 140 new-generation Fırtına self-propelled guns for the needs of the ground forces of the Turkish Armed Forces.

He also drew attention to the project of developing a domestic Altay tank, noting that serial production of tanks is planned for 2025 following the completion of tests.

"Already in May of this year, two Altay tanks will be transferred to the Turkish Armed Forces for testing. In addition, modernization of Leopard 2 A-4 tanks is planned, as well as the start of production of the Altuğ 8x8 armoured personnel carrier," the president added.

"Turkish UAVs are changing the rules of warfare all over the world with success achieved in a wide range, from the victory in Karabakh to Libya, from the fight against terrorism to special operations," the head of state said.

Erdogan added that the country aims to minimise dependence on arms imports, relying on the domestic defence industry. This will completely eliminate the problem of "licensing" and increase the efficiency of the Turkish Armed Forces.