Advanced Warfare: Game Changer Turkish Drones!

Turkey has invested a lot in drone technology in recent years. Especially since the beginning of the 2000s, Turkish companies operating in the field of artificial intelligence and drones have become preferred brands in the world market in the last 4-5 years.

There are 2 large companies producing armed unmanned aerial vehicles in Turkey. One is Turkish Aircraft Industries Joint Stock Company (TUSAŞ English: TAI) and the other is Baykar Defense. However, there are many smaller-scale drone manufacturers.

What is the Feature of Turkish Drones?

They are unmanned aerial vehicles developed especially for small groups, all kinds of armed vehicles including tanks and the destruction of many air defense systems.

These drones, which are used by the Turkish Armed Forces in Northern Syria in their fight against the terrorist organization ISIS (Also known as DAESH) and the PKK, have been continuously developed with the feedback of the army.

During the development phase of these vehicles, engineers studied the operations with the soldiers at the army headquarters and made these armed drones more effective with software and physical add-ons according to instant needs. For this reason, it has attracted the attention of many countries in the world.

Turkish drones are produced with the national means of Turkey. It is quite economical compared to other examples in the world. The biggest advantage of Turkish drones is that they have proven themselves in many battlefields.

After being used against terrorist organizations in Syria, it was also used effectively against putschist Haftar in Libya by the forces supported by the United Nations. It was used for the first time by the Azerbaijani army against another army, especially in the “Karabakh War” between Azerbaijan and Armenia in 2020. The aforementioned Turkish-made armed unmanned aerial vehicles played a major role in winning the war. And drones have proven to be quite effective against conventional armies as well.

After the successes, many countries bought these drones from Turkey. These countries; Azerbaijan, Ukraine, Poland, Qatar, Pakistan, Libya, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Niger, Ethiopia. There is also information that the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Latvia and Lithuania are also closely interested in Turkish drones.

Baykar Armed Drones

It was established by Özdemir Bayraktar in 1984, under the name of Baykar Makine, in order to serve the automotive industry in the manufacture of precision engine, pump and gearbox parts, which are subject to localization. With the participation of the second generation engineers of the family (Haluk, Selçuk and Ahmet Bayraktar) in the company since 2000, R&D studies have been started in this field with unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technologies in the defense and aviation world within the body of Baykar.

Baykar company, which has more than 2000 thousand employees, has manufactured more than 500 drones and delivered them to the buyers. One of the most important products that made the company successful is Bayraktar TB-2.

Bayraktar TB-2

The entire infrastructure of Baykar Bayraktar TB2, designed by Baykar Defense R&D team in 2014 in accordance with military and civil aviation standards, was produced in Turkey. The system entered the Turkish Armed Forces inventory in 2015.

It is estimated that 300 units have been produced so far. The production cost is approximately 6 million dollars per piece. In this sense, it has a very cheap cost compared to its competitors. The company is currently working on the TB-3 model.

General Features

• Crew: none
• Body length: 6.5 m
• Wingspan: 12 m
• Total Takeoff Weight: 700 kg
• Payload Weight: 150 kg
• Engine: 1× Rotax 912 Internal Combustion Injection Engine, 100 HP
• Fuel Capacity / Type: 300 Liters / Gasoline

Performance

• Top speed: 120 knots 222 km/h
• Usual Cruising Speed: 70 knots 130 km/h
• Service altitude: 27,000 feet
• Airtime: 27 Hours
• Operational radius: 300 km, longer or unlimited with the satellite-controlled TB2S variant.

Weapons: Bayraktar TB2 has 4 loading points for the transport of laser guided ammunition under the wing. It can carry a total payload of 150 kg at the loading points.

The head of the UK Defense Secretariat, Ben Wallace, said in a statement that Bayraktar TB2s were responsible for the destruction of hundreds of armored vehicles and even air defense systems in Syria, Libya and elsewhere, and that Turkish UAVs ‘changed the game‘ if even half of the said casualty figures are considered accurate.

Azerbaijan demonstrated the Turkish Drones (TB-2) at the victory ceremony held after winning the war with Armenia.

With the agreement made in 2018, Ukraine added 12 TB-2 drones to its inventory. Ukraine announced on October 26, 2021 that it used Turkish drones for the first time in Donbas against Russia-backed separatists. If we examine the reason for the event in question;

In a statement made by the Ukrainian Armed Forces, it was stated that pro-Russian separatists violated the ceasefire by using howitzers, resulting in the death of a Ukrainian soldier and the wounding of 2 soldiers. In the statement, it was stated that although diplomatic warnings were sent about the incident, no results were obtained, and it was stated that the Bayraktar TB2 UAV was used for the first time to force the separatists to a ceasefire.

In the statement, it was shared that the UAV of the Ukrainian Armed Forces did not cross the contact line and destroyed a separatist howitzer using a guided missile.

After Russia’s attack on Ukraine on February 24, 2022, the Ukrainian Embassy in Turkey announced that the Russian army was inflicted great damage with Turkish TB-2 Drones. Later, the embassy deleted its statement on Twitter. Photo reflected in the press;

Ukrainian Chief of General Staff Valery Zaluzhny continues to share Bayraktar TB2 images on his Facebook account. Finally, he shared the video of the moments when Bayraktar TB2 destroyed the Russian-made BUK Air Defense Missile System.

Ukrainian Bayraktar TB2 airstrike

Video source https://t.co/fmxMKITUK8 pic.twitter.com/KIfVSy4jAG

— MilitaryAviationInUa (@MilAviaUA) February 27, 2022

Bayraktar Akinci

Bayraktar Akıncı is an armed unmanned aerial vehicle with long endurance at high altitude, developed by the Turkish Unmanned Aerial Vehicle manufacturer Baykar Defense and delivered to the Turkish Armed Forces in 2019.

Akinci is a 6-tonne armed unmanned aerial vehicle with two turboprop engines and a payload of approximately 1.5 tons. Because it can do air-air combat, it is also called an Assault Unmanned Aerial Vehicle rather than a drone. The first export agreement was signed on January 23, 2022, but the company did not say to which country.

General Features

• Crew: none
• Length: 12.2 m (40 ft)
• Wingspan: 20.0 m (65.6 ft)
• Height: 4.1 m (13.1 ft)
• Maximum take-off weight: 6000 kg (13,200 lb)
• Payload: 5,500 kg (12,100 lb)
• Internal: 450 kg (990 lb)
• External: 900 kg (2,000 lb)
• Power unit: 2× turboprop engine, 750 hp (560 kW) (Each)

Performance

• Top speed: 195 Knots (361 km/h)
• Service ceiling: 40,000 ft (12,192 m)
• It can carry 7 missiles.

TUSAS Turkish Aerospace Industries

TAI – Turkish Aerospace Industries, Inc. is the technology center for the design, development, production, completion, refurbishment and after-sales services of aerial platforms in Turkey. It was established on 28 June 1973 under the Ministry of Industry and Technology in order to reduce Turkey’s foreign dependency in the defense industry. The company manufactures parts for the world’s largest passenger aircraft Airbus A380 and military transport aircraft Airbus A400M. In addition, the company started to produce winglets for the Airbus A350, which made its first flight in 2013.

The company produces many vehicles such as the T-129 Attack helicopter and armed unmanned aerial vehicles. It is also developing Turkey’s first warplane.

Tusas Anka

TUSAŞ Anka (English: TAI Anka) is an unmanned aerial vehicle developed by the Turkish Aerospace Industry. Basic Anka-A is in the middle altitude long life UAV class. Designed for tactical surveillance and reconnaissance missions in the early 2000s, Anka has now evolved into a modular platform with synthetic ranged radar, precision weapons and satellite communications. It is named after the legendary mythological creature, the Phoenix. TUSAŞ Anka has flown a total of 100,000 hours since it entered service on December 7, 2021.

General Features

• Crew: none
• Body length: 8 m
• Wingspan: 17 m
• Wing area: 13.6 m²
• Total Takeoff Weight: 1.500 kg
• Fuel weight: 250 kg
• Useful Payload: 350 kg
• Engine: 1× Thielert Centurion 2.0 four-cylinder, turbodiesel, 155 hp (114 kW)(for early productions), or 1 × TAI Motor Industry PD170 inline 4-cylinder, liquid-cooled and turbocharged diesel engine, 170 hp (127 kW)

Performance

• Top speed: 217 km/h (117 knots, 135 mph)
• Usual Cruising Speed: > 75 knots
• Service altitude: 30,000 ft
• Airtime: 24 – 32 hours
• Operation radius: 200 km (124 mi)-Unlimited with satellite control(Anka-S)

Tusas Aksungur

TUSAŞ Aksungur is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) being developed by Turkish Aerospace Industries (TUSAŞ) for the Turkish Armed Forces. It is classified as a medium altitude long life unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). While the fuselage, wing and landing gear are newly developed for the program, the new UAV continues its common features with the Anka family, especially in terms of interior systems and avionics. Aksungur is the largest unmanned aerial vehicle produced by TUSAŞ (TAI) to date.

General Features

• Crew: none
• Length: 39.3 ft (12.0 m)
• Wingspan: 78.7 ft (24.0 m)
• Height: 9.8 ft (3.0 m)
• Curb weight: 3968 lb (1800 kg)
• Maximum take-off weight: 7275 lb (3300 kg)
• Payload: 1,653 lb (750 kg)
• Power unit: 2× TEI PD170 turboprop engine, 170hp-220hp (126 kW-164 kW) (Each)

Performance

• Cruising speed: 155 mph (250 km/h)
• Range: 4,039 miles (6,500 kilometers)
• Service ceiling: 40,000 ft (12,192 m)
• It can carry 6 missiles.

We shared with you the most popular drones (UAV) developed by Turkey. I hope our article was useful for you. See you!