Russian Reconnaissance Drone Merlin-VR Crashed in Turkey Near Border with Greece

A Russian reconnaissance drone Merlin-VR crashed in western Turkey. Local residents found the wreckage in the vicinity of the city of Manyas, Balikesir province.

The drone crashed almost on the border with Greece, according to the Russian propaganda Telegram channel Osvedomitel.

The Merlin-VR is a Russian reconnaissance UAV developed by the Smolensk Research Institute of Modern Telecommunication Technologies.

It was presented in 2021 and is used by the Russian army for aerial reconnaissance.

The drone can stay in the air for up to ten hours and climb to an altitude of 5 km. The payload is 6.5 kilograms, which allows the UAV to be equipped with a powerful optoelectronic module.

As a reminder, a Russian Orlan-10 military drone also crashed in Turkey yesterday.

According to preliminary estimates, the drone was used to reconnoiter the Black Sea by relaying signals to identify potential threats.