Minister: Türkiye aims to become leading country in space technology PHOTO

National Defence Minister Hulusi Akar has said that Türkiye's goal is to become one of the leading countries in space technology and turn the country's armed forces into a source of military space power.

Akar made the remarks while commenting on the forthcoming launch of the first Turkish-made, high-resolution earth observation satellite IMECE, according to Anadolu.

“Türkiye will also increase its power in orbit thanks to the excellent quality and advanced parameters of the IMECE satellite, as well as the Gokturk-1 and Gokturk-2 earth observation satellites,” the minister said.

He noted that the IMECE satellite, which will enter service after the completion of orbital tests and acceptance stages, will be controlled by the Turkish Air Force Command.

“Thus, we will be one of the few armed forces that will exercise command control over more than one satellite of a single ground station. Currently, the Turkish Armed Forces are among the few NATO armies with space capabilities. For us, this is a special reason for pride. We closely follow NATO’s space activity and make our contribution,” the minister said.

Akar drew attention to the use of space for military purposes and its result in the future.

“We are striving to turn our country into a bigger and more powerful nation in line with Türkiye's Centenary vision. We are determined in this issue thanks to the Turkish people’s trust. We are able to do it,” the minister added.