Can you imagine a drone that can initiate an attack without human intervention? Turkey is now the first nation to use drones for these activities. The production of armed, human-operated drones has already started in the country. Moreover, reports say that they’ve been used hundreds of times in north-west Syria. In the future, they might be used in combat operations in the east of the country and near the Turkish-Syrian border.
Turkish defense company STM has announced that the nation’s army will start using its Kargu drones early next year. Thus, the Turkish army will form the first kamikaze drone unit in 2020. The company ranked 85th in Defense News Top 100 defense companies in the world, with $564.8 million in revenue. KARGU autonomous quadcopters were developed by the Turkish firm, STM. The company has been producing a number of drones, full of light combat range of navigation, command modules for all troop types, radar equipment and, targeting systems.
AI-guided autonomous drones
“We got a great military advantage thanks to our drones. KARGU is superior to its competitors. In three months, in early 2020, the KARGU unit will begin work in the Armed Forces and will play a critical role in the conduct of important army operations, especially in the east of the country and near the Syrian border,” STM CEO Murat Ikinci said. 30 drones equipped with orienteering and facial recognition systems will be some great features combined in the unit. Thanks to artificial intelligence technology today, they will be capable of autonomously performing combat tasks. Furthermore, the drones can carry equipment or a warhead for specific tasks.
“The flight range is 15 km, in the air 70-kilogram drone can be up to half an hour. At the same time, the system works so that if one machine with explosives was disabled, its place will be taken by another and it takes over the task. Kamikaze drones are also cheaper than homing missiles,” Ikinci said. The KARGU unit has the potential to destroy ships, military bases, and render air defense systems against drones ineffective. Perhaps, the most important part is patrolling and maintaining security at the Syrian border, including at depths of up to 15-30 km. Turkey and the US are currently working together on a project to create a safe zone in northern Syria free of PKK/PYD/YPG militias recognized by the Turkish side as a terrorist.
