Explainer: What are Turkish Songar drones, 400 of which Pakistan used to target 36 places in India

During the intervening night of May 8 and 9, Pakistan carried out strikes by drones on India at 36 locations along the western borders from Leh in the north to Sir Creek in Gujarat, using 300-400 unmanned aerial systems (UAS).

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Revealing this at a media briefing related on the ongoing military engagement between India and Pakistan, Colonel Sofiya Qureshi and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh said preliminary examination of downed drones showed that Turkey’s Asisguard Songar drones were employed for the attacks.

Stating that the Indian Armed Forces shot down many of the drones using kinetic and non-kinetic measures, they added that the possible purpose of such large scale intrusions was to test air defence systems and collect intelligence.

Developed by an Ankara-based firm, Asisguard, Songar is a low-altitude, quadrotor, unmanned combat aerial vehicle that was developed for the Turkish Armed Forces and has been in use since 2020 for battlefield operations as well as internal security duties.

Consisting of a quadrotor that can be armed and a ground-control station, it can be operated in autonomous and manual-flight modes and can simultaneously transmit telemetry data and images. Its features include route-planning and navigation based on GPS and autonomous return-to-base operation in an emergency.

The company’s website states that Songar Armed Drone System is the first armed drone in the Turkish Armed Forces’ and is meant to be used in any kind of day and night military and security operations.

Songar has an operational range of about 10 kms and a maximum take-off weight of 45 kg. According to reports, the system is low-cost and can be modified according to requirements at hand, is easy to use, It is also light weight and easy to carry by troops.

Besides carrying daytime and infrared cameras, it can be equipped with different types of weapons that can be triggered remotely. These include machine guns, grenade launchers and mini missiles that can be used to target personnel, bunkers, light vehicles and buildings up to a range of two kms.

Barrel rotation up to 45 degrees, close air support capability for critical military installations, ability to perform 35 minutes of duty without payload, rapid response to known threats, multi-layered firing safety measures and gimbaled automatic firing system are among its other listed features.

Songar has been integrated into both ground vehicles and standalone UAV operations. It has also been mounted on a 4x4 armored vehicle to support close-range combat and surveillance missions.

Pakistan and Turkey have close bilateral relations encompassing cultural, economic, diplomatic and military domains and are both members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. Turkey is a major supplier of military equipment to Pakistan and has been supporting it in the international arena.