Nicosia, Cyprus. A Turkish combat drone, likely a Bayraktar TB2 or Bayraktar Akinci, was reported circling above Cyprus on Saturday afternoon east of Kyrenia near the village of Ayios Epiktitos. The flight came as tensions rose following US and Israeli strikes on Iran and Iranian retaliatory strikes on US bases in nearby countries.
Drone flight path over Turkey and Cyprus
The drone had earlier been flying off the coast of Dalaman in southwest Turkey before flying up Turkey’s southern coast and then to Cyprus.
Regional context and claims about Turkish bases
Iranian-American academic Seyed Mohhamad Marandi, described as having close relations with the Iranian government, wrote on Saturday that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is “allowing the US to use its bases in the country against the Islamic Republic”. Marandi added that Erdogan is also permitting American use of airborne warning and control system (Awacs) aircraft in Turkish airspace “against Iran”.
Bayraktar TB2 and Akinci background
The Bayraktar TB2 has previously been deployed by Turkey to strike Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and People’s Protection Units (YPG) targets in Iraq and Syria, and has also been used by the Ukrainian armed forces in the war against Russia and by Azerbaijan during the second Karabakh war.
The Bayraktar Akinci, a newer drone, was notably deployed to find the site of the 2024 Varzaqan helicopter crash in which Ebrahim Raisi and Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, Iran’s then president and foreign minister, were both killed.
Gecitkale airbase warning
In 2024, Cem Kapisiz, chairman of the north’s air traffic controllers’ trade union, warned that the north’s Gecitkale (Lefkoniko) airbase “may be used” by the Turkish air force if tensions continue to rise in the Middle East. He told television channel Kanal Sim that the airbase is currently being used by unarmed aircraft operating in the region for “surveillance purposes”.
However, he said “the war in the Middle East is getting hotter day by day” and that “Gecitkale could be used if Turkey also gets involved in the tensions in the region.”
What do you think the reported drone activity indicates about the current security situation around Cyprus?
