Turkey launches Gokturk-1 military surveillance satellite

Turkey launched its second military surveillance satellite from the Kourou Launch Center in the French Guiana on Monday.

The Gokturk-1 will gather intelligence for the Turkish Armed Forces and provide high resolution images to support Turkey's fight against terrorism.

Its take-off was watched by many in Turkey, including an audience with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a ceremony at the Turkish Aerospace Industry in Ankara.

The satellite is expected to take over 60,000 images a year.

It'll send the pictures back to the Air Force Central command, every time it passes over Turkey

"Today, Turkey's external dependence in the defence industry is half the amount of what it used to be 14 years ago. The domestic participation rate in this satellite [industry] is 20 percent," Erdogan said, highlighting that Turkey remains committed to ending its foreign dependency in the defence and space sectors.