Has Turkey purchased ‘aerial riot control vehicle,’ CHP deputy asks

Can Mumay ISTANBUL

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Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) Istanbul deputy Sezgin Tanrıkulu has submitted a parliamentary question to learn whether Turkey has bought an aerial riot control vehicle called “Skunk Riot Copter.”

The Skunk, produced by South African company Desert Wolf, is equipped with four high-capacity paintball barrels, releasing up to 20 paintballs per second each, and 80 pepper balls per second. The current hopper capacity of 4,000 balls and a High Pressure Carbon Fiber Air system allows for the dispersal of crowds.

The unmanned aerial vehicle also has bright strobe lights, blinding lasers and onboard speakers that enable communication and delivering warnings to crowds. It has an FLIR Thermal camera, full HD video color camera, on board recording, full telemetry data link and long range control link.

Tanrıkulu has asked Interior Minister Efkan Ala if the claim that Turkey has purchased those vehicles was true, how many of them were ordered and why the government needed them.

“What is the list of the vehicles and materials that have been purchased to be used in the case of riots in 2014 up until June 20 and how much they have cost,” he also asked in the parliamentary question.