Air Base Perimeter Upgraded After Drone Sightings

TALAS — Gendarmerie and US personnel have installed tracking radars, electronic jamming equipment and new perimeter fencing at Talas Air Base after a series of incursions by surveillance drones, the Republican Gendarmerie said yesterday.

In a statement, the Gendarmerie said small drones had been seen over the base and its approach roads on several occasions in recent months. It did not say who was believed to have flown them. The work, described in a Gendarmerie order as Operation Clear Skies, was carried out jointly with US personnel. The Gendarmerie guards the outer perimeter and approach roads of the base, while US forces are responsible for security within their own areas.

A spokesman for the US forces at the base confirmed that "force protection measures" had been taken and declined to give details. Residents of villages along the base road said crews had been laying cable and erecting fence posts since early August. The Gendarmerie reminded the public that flying drones near the base is prohibited and said that unauthorized aircraft would be brought down.