Türkiye’s homegrown UAV completes 1st ramp takeoff test

ANKARA

A new homegrown drone from one of Türkiye’s biggest defense companies on Saturday successfully completed a key test for missions from Turkish ships.

The Bayraktar TB3 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) from defense firm Baykar carried out its "ramp takeoff test" under conditions similar to those of the TCG Anadolu, an amphibious assault ship Türkiye commissioned in 2010.

The Bayraktar TB3 made its first flight last Oct. 27 on the 100th anniversary of the Turkish Republic.

In its first ramp takeoff test, the Bayraktar TB3 UAV took off from the ramp four times, successfully completing all its takeoffs.

The Bayraktar TB3 UAV will continue its tests for some time from a specially prepared ramp runway in the Edirne province.

395 hours in the air

In its test flights to date, the Bayraktar TB3 UAV has been in the air for over 395 hours.

In a test flight last December, the homegrown UAV stayed in the air for 32 hours without landing and covered 5,700 kilometers (3,542 miles).

This March it flew for the first time with the ASELFLIR-500 Electro-Optical Reconnaissance, Surveillance, and Targeting System, developed by Turkish defense firm Aselsan.

First flight from ship later this year

With its foldable wing structure, the Bayraktar TB3 UAV will be the world's first armed unmanned aerial vehicle capable of takeoff and landing from short runways like the TCG Anadolu.

Selcuk Bayraktar, Baykar’s chair and technology leader, announced that later this year they plan to start tests of the UAV from the TCG Anadolu ship.

The Bayraktar TB3’s capabilities boast key innovations for unmanned aerial vehicles in this class.

The homegrown UAV, which will also have beyond line of sight communication capability, will be able to be controlled from very long distances.

With reconnaissance/surveillance, intelligence, and attack missions on overseas targets with its smart munitions, it is expected to have a multiplier effect on Türkiye’s deterrent power.

Export champion

Baykar, which has conducted all its projects with its own resources since its inception, has obtained 83% of its total revenues from exports since the beginning of the UAV research and development process in 2003.

*Writing by Esra Tekin in Istanbul