Turkish spy aerostat spotted in Syria

The Turkish aerostat-borne surveillance system was spotted in the Idlib region in Syria.

Idlib falls within a de-escalation zone forged under an agreement between Turkey and Russia.

The area has been the subject of multiple cease-fire understandings, which have frequently been violated by the Assad regime and its allies.

Local social media also were posted a large number of photos showing the spy blimp-like aerostat looks like a Turkish Karagöz aerostat surveillance system.

Karagöz system, developed by Aselsan, is designed for the aim of bringing surveillance, intelligence and early warning capability to military bases and critical facilities, according to task requirements such as airborne persistent surveillance, critical facility security and regional communications, offers the optimal solution based on the current technology.

According to the Aselsan website, Karagöz is adapted for various tasks with different payload options such as radar, communication relay, electro-optical camera.

Such systems provide detection, monitoring, sorting, tracking and coordination of law enforcement and troops response to suspect airborne and ground activity along the borders or perimeter of military bases.

The aerostat gives personnel on the ground the ability to watch over a very large area, search for IEDs and track other things of interest.

Similar systems are used by armies of different countries of the world, including the USA, China and Russia. ISIS even managed to shot down a spy blimp-like airship near Tikrit, a city in Iraq, located 140 kilometers northwest of Baghdad in 2018.