Turkish military drone lands in Cyprus

A military armed drone landed in the northern part of Cyprus on Monday after flying a five-hour mission from its naval base in Turkey.

According to Turkish media, a number of Bayraktar TB2 armed unmanned aerial vehicles landed at a local airport on Monday in Lefkoniko/Gecitkale, outside Famagusta, around 10am.

Previous reports by Kathimerini Cyprus said three trailer trucks with equipment were delivered at the airfield on Sunday early morning, around 1:30am, under heavy security.

Two videos later emerged on Monday, one clip capturing parts of the ovenight mission flown remotely out of Dalaman naval air base in Turkey, and another video showing a drone landing in Cyprus.

Turkish UAVs will be flying missions over drilling ships in search of natural resources in the eastern Mediterranean, a region with heavily contested waters over exploration and exploitation rights.

The Republic of Cyprus, which maintains that Turkey’s claims around Cyprus are without merit, recently announced the National Guard had obtained its own drones supplied from Israel, which also objects to Turkish claims in the region.

#BREAKING: MOMENT of the Turkish Nationally Produced Bayraktar TB2 Armed UAV’s landing to Turkish Republic of Northern #Cyprus

First UAV belongs to Turkish Armed Forces landen in TRNC’s Geçitkale Airport. pic.twitter.com/kd05sMUxf6

— EHA News (@eha_news) December 16, 2019