Turkish surveillance jet flies above NATO summit venue

KONYA – Anadolu Agency

A Turkish surveillance jet has flown over the venue where the NATO summit took place in Warsaw on July 8-9, thus providing security for the gathering and the leaders attending the event. 

A Turkish Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft called the Güney, which means south in Turkish, joined other NATO forces in securing the safety of the alliance’s leaders’ summit in the Polish capital. 

After taking off from its base in the Central Anatolian province of Konya in Turkey, the Güney flew for three hours to reach Warsaw, where it conducted its duty – aerial control and surveillance – for 23 hours. 

The aircraft transferred the aerial footage it captured with its radar, which has a 360-degree view and range of 500 kilometers, to the NATO headquarters. 

The Güney’s sortie for the NATO summit was its first misson abroad, where it flew at an altitude of 31,000 feet and around 4,000 kilometers away from Turkey. 

Hakan Dinç, the commander of the AWACS 131 Squadron, said the aircraft had flown two hours longer than planned at the Warsaw summit, which showed how important their job was for NATO and how much the alliance needed the jet and staff. 

“This is also an expression of what a meaningful contribution we make to NATO,” Dinç said. 

Dinç said the Güney AWACS was refueled by a Turkish refueling aircraft that took off from Turkey’s southern İncirlik Air Base. 

The refueling process took 20 minutes and the aircraft received 16 tons of fuel, Dinç said. 

Boeing has delivered four B737-700 type AWACS aircrafts to Turkey since 2014, including the Güney. Turkey has named the other three aircrafts Kuzey (North), Doğu (East) and Batı (West).