Turkish AWACS aircraft will fly nonstop for 60 hours for the NATO summit

AWACS aircraft belonging to the Turkish Air Force will conduct nonstop flights for 60 hours to ensure the security of the NATO Summit in Ankara. The aircraft can detect targets within a 400-kilometer range with their advanced radar systems.

Scraper SystemJuly 07, 2026, 08:04 PM

Turkish AWACS aircraft will fly nonstop for 60 hours for the NATO summit

Airborne Early Warning and Control (AWACS) aircraft belonging to the Turkish Air Force will conduct nonstop flights for 60 hours for the security of the NATO Summit being held in Ankara. The aircraft, based at the 3rd Main Jet Base in Konya, can detect air and sea targets within a 400-kilometer range with their advanced radar systems.

Team Commander Fatih Kulak told Anadolu Agency that the aircraft have an electronically scanned multi-purpose air and sea radar, can scan 360 degrees, and can transmit detected targets in real time to ground operation centers and other aircraft and ships.

Kulak stated that they conducted a flight over the Black Sea today as part of the summit, monitoring threats that could come from the region and reporting them to relevant units. "We will carry out 60 hours of nonstop duty in 11 sorties throughout the summit. All flights will be continuous and will take place under the supervision of the Airborne Early Warning and Control aircraft," Kulak said, adding that today's flight is expected to last about 8.5 hours with a 15-person crew, but they are always ready in case the mission duration needs to be extended.

Emphasizing that the aircraft, equipped with active and passive sensors, can detect and identify not only airborne but also surface targets at sea, Kulak noted that the arrival flights of leaders and delegations attending the summit to Turkey are also being tracked. He added that they are conducting joint operations with NATO naval forces in various regions, particularly the Eastern Mediterranean and the Baltic Sea.

The 36th NATO Summit, hosted by Turkey, is being held in the country for the second time, 22 years after the 2004 Istanbul Summit. The summit is of great importance for the challenges facing the alliance and the global security architecture.

Turkish AWACS aircraft will fly nonstop for 60 hours for the NATO summit