Israel recalls its Heron drone operators from Turkey

PanARMENIAN.Net - Israel has recalled its Heron drone operators from the southeast Turkish city of Batman, where they had been training Turkish officers on the unmanned aircraft. The action occurs in the wake of the deadly May 31 attack on the Mavi Marmara and ensuing diplomatic crisis between the two nations, pulsemedia reports citing Zaman Turkish edition.

In 2005, Turkey agreed to purchase 10 Heron drones from Israel at a total price of nearly 190 million dollars. Following a delay of over 2 years, 6 of the promised aircraft were delivered to Turkey earlier this year.

According to Zaman, the removal of the Israeli operators at this particular time, before the Turkish officers have completed their training, appears to be driven by more than mere concern for the operators’ safety.