Bayraktar Akinci, a high-altitude long-endurance (HALE) twin-engine unmanned aerial vehicle manufactured by the Turkish company Baykar was spotted during a spy mission over Syria. This is the first use of an unmanned aerial vehicle in a combat zone.
According to the photo circulating on social media, the Turkish drone was not armed.-
The new attack drone officially entered the Turkish service last August.
Being much bigger than the Bayraktar TB-2, the Akinci’s large combat payload capacity of 1,350 tons brings more lethal weaponry and flexible concepts of operations (CONOPS).
The drone can be fitted with different weapon payloads such as laser guided smart munitions, missiles, and long-range stand-off weapons.
The weapon payloads that can be carried by the drone include Cirit missile, mini smart munition Bozok, MAM-L (thermobaric), MAM–C (high-explosive), long-range anti-tank missile system (L-UMTAS) missile, MK-81, MK-82, MK-83 guided bombs (JDAM). The UCAV can also be armed with Gokdogan and Bozdogan air-to-air missiles, wing-assisted MK-82 guided bomb, and SOM-A stand-off missile.
Akinci is powered by two Ukrainian-made turboprop engines which can generate a power output of 450hp each. An option to install 750hp engines or locally made 240hp engines is also available.
The unmanned vehicle can achieve a cruise speed of 150kt and a maximum speed of 250kt with an operational range of 5,000km and an endurance of up to 20 hours.
Operational altitude and maximum altitude of the UCAV are 30,000ft and 40,000ft, respectively.
By: Dlyan Malyasaov
Source: Defense Blog
