Turkey's 1st aerospace, technology festival kicks off in Istanbul

Turkey's Air Force aerobatic team performs air show in Istanbul, Turkey, on Sept. 20, 2018. Turkey's first aerospace and technology festival kicked off on Thursday with a spectacular ceremony at the construction zone of Istanbul's new airport. The Teknofest Istanbul, organized by the Turkey Technology Team Foundation, aims to showcase the country's advances in technology and to promote technological progress as a national objective, Mehmet Fatih Kacir, Turkey's deputy minister of industry and technology and head of the foundation, told Xinhua. (Xinhua/He Canling)

ISTANBUL, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- Turkey's first aerospace and technology festival kicked off on Thursday with a spectacular ceremony at the construction zone of Istanbul's new airport.

The Teknofest Istanbul, organized by the Turkey Technology Team Foundation, aims to showcase the country's advances in technology and to promote technological progress as a national objective, Mehmet Fatih Kacir, Turkey's deputy minister of industry and technology and head of the foundation, told Xinhua.

"Promotion of technology cannot happen without a little fun, and we intend to highlight technology in a big way with our internationally competitive aviation teams," he added.

The Turkish Stars, Turkey's Air Force aerobatic team, performed a thrilling show with six aircraft at the opening ceremony, which drew a large audience including many students.

Kenan Sofuoglu, Turkey's former motorcycle champion, competed against an F-16 warplane, a business jet, a Formula 1 car and three other race cars at a 400-meter-long runway of the airport.

He won the race with a score of 9.43, followed by the Formula 1 car, with a score of 9.39.

As part of the festival that lasts until Sunday, thousands of hackers from 132 countries are expected to join a contest named HackIstanbul 2018, Capture the Flag.

The hackers will demonstrate their skills through advanced real-life cyber-attack scenarios constructed under the guidance of the world's foremost experts, the organizers said in a press release.

Turkey's leading defense and technology institutions, such as Aselsan, Roketsan, TAI and Turkish Airlines, will also organize competitions in 12 different categories.