'Top-secret' Turkish drone goes public after crash

Turkey's first indigenous reconnaissance drone has come under the spotlight after a crash during a test flight in northern Sinop Province.

The "top-secret" plan to develop the drone went public after the crash, Turkey's Aksam newspaper reported on Thursday.

Two of the drones named "Caldiran" were being tested when one of them crashed due to errors made by its operator. The other one landed successfully.

Ahmet Bayraktar, the deputy general director of Baykar Technologies, the Turkish company that has developed the drone, said that "we managed to fly the first indigenous reconnaissance drone for the Turkish Armed Forces."

"The drone is similar to Israel's Heron and have capabilities beyond that," Bayraktar added.

"It was a secret project but after the crash during the test flight the spotlight was turned on us," he added.

He highlighted the importance of Turkey's success in developing its own drone, saying that over the next decade the country's orders for drones would amount to USD 4 billion.

The 6.5-meter long drone can reach an altitude of 6,000 meters and can remain in the air for 8 hours.