Turkey Developing New Superfast Drone

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Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI), the state-owned aerospace technologies developer, plans to eventually develop the country’s first supersonic drone. The “Aksungur” drone has been showcased at the International Defence Industry Fair in Istanbul. TAI claims that the Aksungur drone can reach a maximum speed of 180 kilometers per hour.

The company’s CEO, Temel Kotil, mentions that a superfast version of the Aksungur is to be released as well. The incredibly fast drone is set to have a maximum speed of 380 kilometers per hour and will be called the Goksungur.

Apparently, TAI has developed the Aksungur in a year and a half. The drone is powered by twin-engines allowing it to carry a maximum payload of 750 kilograms.

Two Aksungur drones have been manufactured by TAI for test flights and are expected to be delivered later this year to the Turkish Armed Forces. Once the Aksungur program is complete, TAI engineers will further advance development on the Goksungur program.

The Aksungur drone is designed after the long endurance Anka drone, Turkey’s first state manufactured drone. Both the Anka and the Aksungur have automatic take off and landing capabilities.

Defensenews.com reports that TAI manufactures aviation components for Lockheed Martin, Airbus, and Boeing. TAI is also a partner in the multinational Joint Strike Fighter program that builds the F-35 fighter jet.