Shocking claim from Özel regarding the UAV that reached Ankara: 'For 2 hours...'

CHP Chairman Özgür Özel, in his assessment of the UAV that was shot down after advancing as far as Ankara, stated that the aircraft was detected by NATO's base in Spain before it approached Turkish land borders.

According to the report by Cumhuriyet, Özel stated that the detection was made via NATO radars in Turkey and noted that the operation was managed from the Spain-based command. Özel said, "The NATO command in Spain scrambled F-16s from Konya and Eskişehir. When it entered Turkish airspace, the F-16s did not change, but the NATO commander in Spain transferred control of the aircraft to the Turkish command center."

According to the information provided by Özel, while the UAV was tracked in the air for approximately 2 hours and 5 minutes, two more fighter jets were scrambled from Incirlik Air Base after the fuel levels of the F-16s on duty dropped. Stating that the UAV was shot down by this second wave of aircraft, Özel drew attention to the decision-making process, saying, "The authority to shoot down an aircraft currently lies with Erdoğan. No order came from Erdoğan for two hours. If it is not so, let them say so. We had the opportunity to shoot down the UAV while it was still over the sea. It was not shot down due to any inadequacy of our air forces, but because of the UAV's origin."