TURKEY: Unidentified Drones & more – 23rd Dec 2025

Merhaba from Oakley! This is the Rorshok Turkey Update from the 23rd of December twenty twenty-five. A quick summary of what's going down in Turkey.

Let’s kick off this edition with an update to a story from our previous show. On Thursday the 18th, the Turkish defense moved into the spotlight after fighter jets shot down an unidentified drone approaching from the northern Black Sea. The Ministry of National Defense described the incident as a routine interception of an out-of-control aerial object and said there was no breach in Turkey’s airspace security.

The event quickly dominated security discussions online. Many users focused on the rising number of unmanned aerial incidents near Turkey’s borders and the broader risks created by regional conflicts.

Analysts said the interception reflected heightened vigilance rather than an isolated episode, pointing out that drone activity around the Black Sea has increased in recent months.

On a related note, on Friday the 19th, authorities announced the discovery of a Russian-made Orlan-10 reconnaissance drone in Kocaeli, a northwestern Turkish city, intensifying attention sparked by the previous day’s Black Sea interception. The Interior Ministry said they found the device on the ground, and initial assessments led them to believe it was used for surveillance.

Officials didn’t confirm a direct link between the two incidents, but the timing fueled public debate. Social media discussions focused on whether Turkey is facing a broader pattern of unmanned aerial activity rather than isolated cases. Security analysts said the discovery underlined how drone technology has reshaped modern intelligence gathering, pushing airspace monitoring and counter-drone measures higher on Turkey’s national security agenda.

On Friday the 19th, Turkish security officials quietly raised the alert level in Ankara after intelligence pointed to a heightened risk of attacks linked to the Islamic State group ahead of New Year celebrations.

An internal memo from the Ankara Provincial Gendarmerie Command warned that the group could target crowded locations in the coming days. The document urged personnel to increase visibility and checks in places such as public markets and shopping centers. Security assessments suggested that potential attack methods could range from armed assaults to suicide attacks, car bombs, or drone-based strikes.

The warning was worded as a precautionary step, citing the group’s history of seeking attention-grabbing actions during symbolic dates.

A drug investigation that has drawn in high-profile figures from Turkey’s media and business circles has been unfolding for several months. During this period, many public figures, like singers and actors, have been questioned or subjected to drug testing as part of the probe.

Most recently, on Wednesday the 17th, the police arrested Ela Rümeysa Cebeci, a television anchor. On Saturday the 20th, businessperson and chair of the Fenerbahçe Sports Club, Sadettin Saran, was also called in to give testimony and underwent testing, further widening public attention.

Public opinion is sharply divided. Some welcomed the investigation as overdue, while critics focused on its timing and high visibility. Many questioned why media figures were at the center rather than organized trafficking networks, arguing that the operation risks appearing selective or politically motivated in a country with a history of high-profile prosecutions overlapping with media pressure.

On Wednesday the 17th, discussions about minimum wage increases for twenty twenty-six gained traction as the minimum wage determination commission met for a second round of talks. The government, labor unions, and business representatives focused on balancing worker purchasing power with inflation trends across the economy.

The consumer prices eased in November to their lowest level in years, leading the central bank to believe that inflation could continue its downward trajectory. These inflation developments shaped expectations for the wage talks, with economists online saying that a higher minimum wage could boost household spending but also affect labor costs for employers.

Social media threads highlighted both worker frustrations with living costs and business concerns about rising wage expenses.

In other news, on Monday the 22nd, the twelfth hearing of the Masquerade nightclub fire opened in Istanbul. The case centers on a fire that broke out in April twenty twenty-four in a basement entertainment venue during renovations. Investigators previously found that the club lacked the required emergency escape routes. Families of the victims repeated their complaints, criticizing delays in preparing a new expert report. Lawyers said the lack of updated findings continues to delay accountability, keeping tensions high more than a year after the tragedy.

The session was disrupted after the nightclub owner directed aggressive remarks at a victim’s relative. The judge suspended proceedings and cleared the courtroom.

Meanwhile, On Thursday the 19th, tensions erupted in the parliament during debates on the twenty twenty-six Central Government Budget Law, which lawmakers approved days later.

The budget sets government spending at about nineteen trillion Turkish lira, almost 500 billion dollars, and expected revenues at roughly sixteen trillion lira (about 335 billion dollars) leaving a deficit of nearly three trillion lira (70 billion dollars). Most income comes from taxes, especially the value-added tax and the special consumption tax.

Lawmakers clashed over allocations for education, health, defense, and rising interest payments on public debt.

Verbal arguments escalated into a physical confrontation between ruling party and opposition members, forcing officials to suspend the session. The incident spread quickly online, where users linked the fight to growing frustration over economic pressure and budget priorities.

On Tuesday the 16th the government partnered with the World Bank and Turkish bank Vakifbank to mobilize up to 1.5 billion Euros, which is about 1.8 billion dollars, to support small and medium-sized enterprises. The plan will use a significant international guarantee to improve financing access, especially for businesses led by women and young entrepreneurs. This partnership trended on finance forums as a major boost for Turkey’s private sector, which has struggled with tighter credit conditions this year.

Speaking of enterprises, this week, Trendyol, an e-shopping platform, stood out as one of Turkey’s strongest e-export success stories after once again topping the Turkey Exporters Assembly rankings in the e-export category.

The platform now connects more than 125 thousand Turkish sellers to millions of customers abroad, promoting products made in Turkey. Sellers can reach thirty-four markets across Europe, the Gulf, and Azerbaijan with a single integration. Industry representatives say this structure reduces administrative barriers for small and medium-sized enterprises and contributes to export activity, foreign currency inflows, and employment.

On Wednesday the 17th, Turkey marked a new high in agricultural exports as mandarin shipments reached an all-time record, according to data from the Aegean Exporters’ Associations and Anadolu Agency. Between January and November this year, Turkish exporters sold about 690,000 tons of mandarins abroad, reaching nearly 615 million dollars in export value, a sixty-one percent jump from last year’s same period and surpassing the previous annual record.

Russia was the largest market, followed by Iraq and Ukraine, reflecting strong demand across key trading partners. Producers credited favorable weather, quality improvement, and competitive pricing for boosting sales.

On the same day, the Constitutional Court annulled a rule on the misuse of flashing warning lights on cars.

The decision, published in the Official Gazette, concerned a provision in the Highway Traffic Law. Under the old rule, if a driver illegally used flashing lights and was not the vehicle owner, authorities also fined the vehicle owner through the license plate.

A lower court argued this was unfair because the owner could be punished even if they had no role in the violation. The Constitutional Court agreed. It said penalties must be personal and only apply to the person who committed the offense.

Closing this edition, on Saturday the 20th, an article in Turkish published in BirGün, Müslüm Gülhan discussed how Turkey’s education and labour system harms children instead of protecting them.

Gülhan explained that millions of school-age children remain outside formal education, while many others attend school only on paper and spend their days working. The article described how vocational training schemes often place children in unsafe workplaces, where serious injuries and deaths still occur.

Gülhan reminded readers that Turkey has signed international agreements on children’s rights and child labor, but enforcement remains weak. She also noted that finishing school does not guarantee stability, as many young people face unemployment or poorly paid jobs.

The piece argued that treating education as a secondary issue deepens inequality and leaves children carrying the cost of long-term policy failures.

Read the full article with the link in the show notes.

Aaand that’s it for this week! Thank you for joining us!

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