Turkey has Developed its First Armed UAV

Turkey has Developed its First Armed UAV

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Bayraktar TB2 is a medium altitude and long-range (MALE) tactical unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) system manufactured by Baykar Makina, at the service of the Turkish Armed Forces.

According to militaryfactory.com, the aircraft marks the Turkey’s first indigenous armed UAV system – it has been used effectively against PKK fighters. Turkey becomes the sixth nation in the world to field a viable UAV.

Six UAVs were delivered to the Turkish Land Forces by 2014 while a second batch of six was handed over in June 2015.

Bayraktar tactical UAV is an ideal platform for conducting reconnaissance and intelligence missions, according to armytechnology.com. The redundant flight control system allows autonomous taxi, take-off, navigation, landing and parking operations without assistance from any external sensor. The unmanned vehicle is also capable of employing semi-auto modes during missions.

The tactical UAV has a range of more than 150km and can fly at a maximum altitude of 22,500ft. It has a maximum speed of 70kt and endurance of more than 20 hours.

Each Bayraktar TB2 system consists of six aerial vehicles, two ground control stations (GCS), three ground data terminals (GDTs), two remote video terminals (RVTs) and ground support equipment.

The UAV has a length of 6.5m, wing span of 12m and a maximum take-off weight of 630kg.

It is equipped with a triple redundant avionics system. An onboard avionics suite encompasses units, including microcontroller, engine control, servo motor power control, engine signal processing and I/O and GPS receiver units.

Bayraktar TB2 UAV can carry a maximum payload of more than 55kg. The standard payload configuration includes an electro-optical (EO) camera module, an infrared (IR) camera module, a laser designator, a laser range finder (LRF) and a laser pointer.

The  ground control station is based on a NATO spec ACE-III mobile shelter unit.