A five-day drone racing championship wrapped up Sunday at Istanbul’s Atatürk Airport, where 32 pilots from 27 countries pushed self-built craft through tight, obstacle-packed courses in a precision sprint. The contest ran under the banner of Teknofest, Turkey’s flagship aerospace and technology festival, designed to showcase engineering talent and pull young people toward science and industry.
Organizers framed the races as a gateway to new careers. Ahmet Özkaya, an event organizer, called drone racing “the future sport,” adding, “It is one of the most open-ended professions, both as a career and as a hobby.” Corporate backers tied the spectacle to a bigger national push. Özgür Güleryüz, CEO of Defense Technologies Engineering and Trade Company (STM), said Teknofest is one of the country’s most important platforms, “bringing Turkey’s technology vision to young generations.” He added that “helping young people unlock their potential in science, engineering, and technology is the most valuable outcome for them.”
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Launched in 2018, Teknofest has grown into a traveling mega-festival that mixes air shows, hands-on demos, and a dense slate of competitions. This year’s program featured contests in 58 main and 137 subcategories spanning robotics, electronics, and coding—part of a wider ecosystem that includes university teams, start-ups, and state-linked firms. The backdrop is Turkey’s rapid build-out in unmanned aviation, which has drawn international attention to locally produced drones and the skills pipeline behind them.
By finishing at a former international hub turned tech arena, the races doubled as a recruiting poster: high-energy sport, real engineering, and a clear runway from hobbyist tinkering to industry. For officials and sponsors, that synthesis—spectacle plus skills—is the point of Teknofest.