Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi died in a helicopter crash. Not only Raisi, but also Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, Tabriz Friday Imam Ayatollah Ali Hashem, and East Azerbaijan Province Governor Malik Rahmati perished in the same crash.
When the incident was first reported, Iranian sources claimed that the helicopter carrying President Raisi had made a hard landing, that there were no issues, and that the delegation was traveling to Tabriz by road.
As the hours passed, it became apparent that there was no movement by road. From that moment on, various reports emerged regarding the fate of the helicopter carrying Raisi.
At this point, Iran requested a night vision-capable aircraft from Türkiye. The request was accepted, and AKINCI UAV started gliding from Van towards the Iranian side of the border.
In a region where temperatures dropped to below zero in some areas, with heavy cloud cover and occasional fog, AKINCI began its mission over the crash site, drawing circles in the sky. Thousands of people tracked AKINCI's movements live via air radar applications during these minutes.
Most likely controlled via satellite, AKINCI first took a general overview of the entire area from a high altitude. There were moments when it significantly slowed down in some areas. As known, while AKINCI can reach speeds of 400 kilometers per hour, it can also fly at very low speeds thanks to its propellers.
After scanning specific areas and focusing on a particular point, AKINCI narrowed down its altitude even further. Its camera detected a heat source. Following assessments, it was clarified that this was the helicopter carrying President Raisi and others.
Türkiye shared some of the images it obtained and the exact coordinates of the helicopter's location with its Iranian counterparts.
After many hours of being unable to locate the helicopter, Iranian search and rescue teams, with the information provided by AKINCI, headed in the right direction. Shortly after, the first teams arrived at the crash site of the helicopter wreckage.
Recently, the unmanned aerial vehicles in the inventories of the countries in the region are frequently discussed. Türkiye stands out as the country that uses these vehicles most effectively, not only in military operations but also especially in situations such as reconnaissance, surveillance, intelligence, and particularly natural disasters and accidents.
The example of President Raisi of Iran and the helicopter found by AKINCI also illustrates this situation. In neighboring countries, there is no other unmanned aerial vehicle that can fly under these conditions and undertake such a critical mission.
Consequently, it is considered that this development, witnessed by the whole world last night, could significantly increase the number of countries wanting to have AKINCI in their inventory for such crisis situations in the near future.
