Turkey deploys UAVs and helicopters to protect Kazdağları forests

The Balıkesir Forest Regional Directorate announced a 2026 strategy to guard the Kazdağları mountains using two Bayraktar TB2 drones equipped with thermal cameras, four amphibious aircraft and two KA‑32C helicopters. The national Forest Service positions 14 UAVs, 29 fixed‑wing aircraft and 114 helicopters across Turkey to support the effort.

On the ground, about 600 fire‑fighters, 29 first‑response vehicles, 71 tractors, 23 water trucks and more than 800 personnel—including staff at 29 fire‑towers and 29 fire‑management centres—stand ready. Water can be drawn from 114 fire‑pools and 129 municipal reservoirs, enabling rapid helicopter drops. Additional amphibious planes will be based at Balıkesir’s central airport from July. The director also urged farmers to equip harvest machines with fire‑extinguishing cartridges, noting 434 non‑forest fires last year and 34 field fires this season that damaged over 350 decares of crops.