Türkiye's TEKNOFEST showcases cutting-edge technology amidst large crowds

As Türkiye's largest aviation, space and technology festival, also known as Teknofest, progresses in the Black Sea province of Samsun, the event showcases a broad range of high-end technological innovations. 

One of the key highlights of the event is Kizilelma (red apple), a state-of-the-art drone that has all the qualities of a fighter jet minus a human pilot. 

Kizilelma was exhibited by the Turkish drone manufacturer Baykar for the first time at Teknofest, which began on August 30 and will continue till September 4, 2022. 

Kizilelma (red apple) is set to make its maiden flight at the beginning of next year, Elif Ergin, a pilot trainer at Baykar, said. 

The prototype was completed in May 2021, she said, adding the structural integration process has nearly been completed.

However, the mechanical and avionic integration process is still underway, she said.

The drone has aggressive manoeuvrability, Ergin stated, with a flight time of five hours and an operational altitude of 35,000 feet.

Bayraktar Kizilelma has the ability to land and take off from ships with short runways like TCG Anadolu, an assault ship of the Turkish Navy.

It has a take-off weight of six tons and a useful load-carrying capacity of 1.5 tons, the official said.

Baykar plans to integrate it with all domestically developed ammunition and all ammunition in the air force inventory, she underlined. 

In his opening address at the festival, Industry and Technology Minister Mustafa Varank said, “The number of people who visited Teknofest in its first year was 550 thousand. Today, the number of applicants to Teknofest competitions alone is over 600 thousand." 

According to Varank, new categories were added to the event this year.

"We added the high school students' climate change research project. We wanted to offer different alternatives to young people. For example, we will send the young people who won a degree in the polar research competition to the poles. We want to put different alternatives in front of our youth. There is not even a single step for Türkiye to take back. Türkiye will be the producer and exporter. Efforts at TEKNOFEST are a matter of the country,” he said.

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‘To bring justice and peace’

TEKNOFEST is organised at the Samsun Carsamba Airport by the Turkish Technology Team Foundation (T3 Foundation) and Türkiye's Industry and Technology Ministry.

The event showcases activities such as air shows with warplanes, drones and helicopters, as well as seminars, summits, and competitions.

The 2022 festival holds technology competitions in more than 40 different categories including semiconductors, UAVs, satellites, rockets, robotics, and artificial intelligence.

Selcuk Bayraktar, the chairman of T3 Foundation, told the opening ceremony that stronger countries often oppress the weak, adding that his objective is to bring justice and peace in the world for which developing advanced technology is a must. 

"The pain of Bosnia, Karabakh and Palestine, where the entire West turned its back, is still fresh in our hearts," he said.

Bayraktar also spoke of the destruction of Iraq and Afghanistan in order to "bring democracy."

"In our northern neighbour Ukraine, women and children continue to be murdered in front of the whole world," he added.

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