Rise of the Turkish Drones

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Turkey plans to become a world leading UAS manufacturer.

In an April 29 speech, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said: “We have reached [a technological level] that we can produce unmanned aircraft.” A government official elaborated on the reasons for the prime minister’s enthusiasm about the aircraft: “Erdogan views the Anka as his signature project in national defense modernization.”

The Anka is a medium-altitude, long-endurance (MALE) drone. Such UAVs can usually operate for 24 hours at an altitude of 10,000 feet. Anka, meaning Phoenix, is the first MALE-type UAV to be produced by Tusas Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI).

Late last year, the Turkish government signed up with TAI for an order of 10 Ankas and ground stations. Under the deal, the first serial production deliveries will take place between 2016 and 2018.

Unmanned systems event 2014 – Israel

Earlier this year, according to sUAS, defense procurement planners moved on a plan to add satcom capabilities to the Anka. At the same time, they have brought together a task force that will design and develop an indigenous engine for the Anka. Meanwhile, a version dubbed Anka+ would feature a rocket attached to its body and sensors. But TAI has ambitions beyond the Anka.

Other national programs are moving ahead at high speed. The Bayraktar, a tactical drone developed by two privately owned Turkish companies, Kale and Baykar, went through its first fully automatic flight test at a military airport in Kesan in northwestern Turkey on April 29.

The company said the first test was successful, adding that a second and third test on May 3 were also “perfectly successful.” The Bayraktar flew for three hours at an altitude of 18,750 feet. Further flight tests are planned for later this year.