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A drone believed to be a Russian-made Orlan-10 reconnaissance unmanned aerial vehicle was found in a rural area of Kocaeli's Izmit district on Friday, prompting authorities to launch an investigation.
According to reports, residents spotted the motionless aerial vehicle on land in the rural Cubuklubala neighborhood and notified authorities. Gendarmerie teams were dispatched to the area following the report.
The incident marks the second drone-related event in Türkiye this week, following the shootdown of an unidentified drone near Cankiri by Turkish F-16s on Monday.
The Orlan-10 is a medium-range, multi-purpose unmanned aerial vehicle developed by Russian firm Special Technology Center LLC in St. Petersburg. The UAV has been in service with the Russian Ministry of Defense since 2010.
The drone is intended for a variety of missions including aerial reconnaissance, observation, monitoring, search and rescue, combat training, electronic jamming, detection of radio signals and target tracking.
The Orlan-10 is typically deployed in groups of two or three, where the first drone conducts reconnaissance at an altitude of 1-1.5 km, the second performs electronic warfare and the third serves as a transponder transmitting intelligence information to the control center.
The Orlan-10 has a wingspan of 3.1 meters and a fuselage length of approximately 1.8-2.0 meters. The drone has a maximum takeoff weight of 16.5-18 kg and can carry a payload of up to 5.5 kg.
The UAV is powered by a gasoline-fueled A-95 engine and can reach a maximum speed of 150 km/h with a cruising speed of 110 km/h. It has an endurance of up to 16 hours, a flight range of 600 km and a communication distance of 120 km from the launch station.
In 2022, residents collecting mushrooms in Gumushane's Kurtun district discovered wreckage that was later identified as a Russian-made Orlan-10 drone. That incident was also attributed to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, with the drone believed to have gone out of control and drifted into Turkish territory.
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