Unmanned ‘Medium Altitude Long Endurance’ combat aerial vehicles (SIHA) produced by the friends and family companies of president Erdoğan have been supported by many western countries. They have also assisted Turkey in the production process of the SIHA drones.
ANF’s reporters in South Kurdistan have just completed an investigation into these drones. They analyzed the parts of the drones and the places that they have been manufactured. Germany has announced that it is going to approve the export of thirty three pieces of military equipment to Turkey for its production of SIHA’s.
According to both the German announcement and the investigation by ANF reporters, five western companies are leading the production of these items. These companies are based in Germany, England and the USA.
WESCAM
These cameras produced by Canada are used in SIHA’s. The Canadian government placed an embargo on the export of these cameras during Turkey’s invasion of Rojava. However, they lifted this embargo in May.
TDW
European rocket system technologies company TDW is designing the OMTAS rockets that are launched by SIHA’s. The company is criticised by anti-war organisations throughout the world.
UTAS
UTAS is the offshoot of the aviation company, Collins Aerospace, from the USA. Founded in 2012, it invests worldwide, including in Turkey. Its technology helps SIHA’s capture the precise location of anything that moves. This technology was extensively used byTurkey during its invasion of Rojava to detect the locations of ‘moving targets’ and also helped to target people in South Kurdistan as well.
CONTINENTAL MOTORS
Based in Germany, ‘Thielert Aircraft Engines GmbH’ and ‘Continental Aerospace Technologies GmbH’ merged in 2013 to become Continental Motors. This company mainly produces motors for small planes and drones. It has been working with Turkey since 2010, according to Federal German Government records. The deals made between the two countries are not published openly and are considered to be “state secrets”.
NUMERICS SOFTWARE GMBH
This company, based in Munich, provides support to Turkey for its drone software. Its transactions are also considered a “state secret”. Consequently, the nature of its contract with Turkey is not published.
