Türkiye plans water-dropping drones to fight forest fires

Detailed summary

Türkiye is expanding its firefighting technology beyond fire detection by developing drones capable of dropping water directly onto forest fires, Agriculture and Forestry Minister İbrahim Yumaklı has announced.

A firefighter tackles a forest blaze in Muğla’s Seydikemer district in July, 2026.

Türkiye is expanding its firefighting technology beyond fire detection by developing drones capable of dropping water directly onto forest fires, Agriculture and Forestry Minister İbrahim Yumaklı has announced.

“We already use them to spot fires, but we’re talking about active firefighting here,” Yumaklı told a group of journalists during a press briefing in Istanbul.

The ministry is working with the defense industry on aircraft able to drop water over difficult terrain. Yumaklı said some Chinese applications operated in flatter, more accessible areas, while Türkiye needed drones capable of tackling fires in challenging landscapes.

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