A video recently published on the online broadcasting platform Gerîla TV allegedly shows the shooting down of a Turkish Aksungur UCAV (unmanned combat aerial vehicle). The People’s Defence Forces (HPG), which is considered the military arm of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), claimed that they shot down the Turkish drone on 27 May in the Qandil region in Iraqi Kurdistan.
The newly released video shows technical details about the Turkish drone and the moment of the downing of the aircraft, filmed with three different cameras.
PKK executive member Murat Karayılan recently spoke about the resistance of the Kurdish guerilla fighters who are fighting with simple means against the Turkish army, which is considered the second largest NATO army. He noted that this resistance “represents something new in human history… A large army, with modern, high-tech weapons, has been stopped.”
In March 2024, the PKK shared a statement announcing the downing of 15 Turkish UCAVs, commonly known as drones. Because drone usage has been a critical element of Turkey’s military strategy against the Kurdish fighters, this signified a considerable setback for the Turkish military. The development of technology that can shoot down Turkish drones is seen as a decisive factor in the armed conflict between the PKK and the Turkish state.
