It was feted as a military “first” and a return to the Imperial glories of the 16th century when the Ottoman navy, led by Admiral Hayreddin “Red Beard” Barbarossa, dominated the Black Sea and Mediterranean.
A one-tonne TB3 attack drone last month took off from a Turkish-made aircraft carrier and, after a short mission, landed safely on the flight deck — the first time a self-piloted vehicle had achieved such a feat anywhere, claimed Sel?uk Bayraktar, chair of Baykar, Turkey’s largest drone company.
“Just as we once ruled the seas, you as descendants of Barbaros Hayreddin, have today?.?.?.?opened the doors to a new world,” he told the crew of TCG Anadolu.