TEKNOFEST drone championship begins in Sirnak

TEKNOFEST's drone championship began on Sunday in Türkiye's southeastern Sirnak province, drawing thousands of young competitors from across the region as the nation pushes for full technological independence, according to festival organizers. Selcuk Bayraktar, who chairs the TEKNOFEST board of directors and the T3 Foundation, attended the opening ceremony.

Bayraktar stated that the initial development of Türkiye's first unmanned aerial vehicle took place in Sirnak in 2006, noting that the region has witnessed a technological revival following the end of terrorism over the past two decades. He said Sirnak has achieved significant milestones in the country's quest for technological independence. "Nearly 18,000 of our young people applied to technology competitions, and Sirnak ranked among the top 10 provinces nationwide in terms of applications; by producing 22 semifinalist teams, it achieved a major success relative to its population," he said.

Record participation

The festival broke its own participation records this year, with 1.6 million people and 730,000 teams registering for competitions across 54 different fields. Teams are competing for a total prize pool exceeding 75 million Turkish lira ($1.5 million), while organizers have pledged more than $2 million in financial support to participants.

Maritime showcase

The Sirnak competition marks the first event of TEKNOFEST's southeastern leg, which will conclude in Sanliurfa province in early October. Organizers will also host the TEKNOFEST Blue Homeland maritime event at the Golcuk Naval Shipyard in the nation's northwest later this month to showcase advanced naval technologies.