home Security Maritime Security Turkish Armed Drone to Be Launched from Ships

Turkish Armed Drone to Be Launched from Ships

Aug 10, 2021

Photo illustration ship by US Navy Wikimedia — 111010-N-KD852-492 PACIFIC OCEAN (Oct 11, 2011) - The Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group consisting of USS New Orleans (LPD 18), USS Pearl Harbor (LSD 52) and USS Makin Island (LHD 8) participate in a formation photo off the southern coast of California. The Makin Island ARG is underway for a certification exercise in preparation for an upcoming deployment. (U.S. Navy photo by Chief Mass Communication Specialist John Lill/Released)

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New details were released about the Turkish TB-3 armed drone, designed to launch from ships packed with unmanned aircraft.

“The Bayraktar TB-3, which is still in development, will be a larger and more capable model in the same family as the TB-2,” the Turkish drone maker Baykar’s chief technology officer, Selcuk Bayraktar, said. “When we began this project, no fixed-wing UAV could take off from LHD-class, short-runway ships,” he explained. “We believe that the TB-3, which can stay in the air for an extended period and is equipped with ammunition, will fill a gap in this field,” Bayraktar said.

The new TB-3 drones are slated to ride aboard Turkey’s future Landing Helicopter Dock Anadolu.

Bayraktar also noted that the ship doesn’t need sophisticated launch and trap systems, adding: “A simple roller system and rescue nets would be enough for secure takeoff and landing, and it can even land without a rescue net.”

He was speaking at an online presentation sponsored by Gebze Technology University, according to defensenews.com.

Bayraktar also stated that MIUS, an unmanned combat aircraft currently in concept design, would operate alongside the TB-3 on the LHD Anadolu. A MIUS prototype is planned to fly in 2023. LHD Anadolu would deploy two types of fixed-wing unmanned air assets once trials were completed.