The Akinci, which translates to “Raider” in Turkish, is a high-altitude, long-endurance UAV capable of air-to-ground and air-to-air attack operations. Last month, the President of Turkey’s Defense Industry Agency stated on Twitter that Baykar had delivered the Turkish military with three additional Akinci drones.
“We continue manufacturing without pause to expand the supremacy of our security forces in the skies,” he stated. Finally, three more Akinci were delivered.”
With drone warfare becoming more prevalent on modern battlefields, as seen by the recent Russia-Ukraine conflict, Turkey has positioned itself as a pioneer in sophisticated drone technology, offering its combat UAVs to partners worldwide.
Following TB2’s early combat success in Ukraine, the attention has switched to the more sophisticated and battle-capable Akinci. “AKINCI will be the world’s first UAV to carry AESA radar and beyond-sight air-to-air missiles,” a Turkish Twitter account that usually broadcasts Turkish military information recently tweeted. TRG-230-iHA, Turkey’s first supersonic missile, was fired from AKINCI and struck a target over 100 kilometres away.”
“With a little tweaking in the programme, for future scope, the utility of the drone can be modified from understanding the flow of water in agricultural lands to delivery of goods within a city by using line following algorithms along roads, and it can also be used for faster identification of items in industrial inventory,” Mr Sastri said.
The ‘Reaper’ is a locally produced unmanned aerial vehicle intended primarily for military and law enforcement applications such as patrolling, target identification, and tracking, among others. “The drone may also be utilised during natural disasters such as floods or earthquakes, assisting disaster management personnel in their search for injured/trapped individuals through the use of hyperspectral imagery. Another use is that it can gather and examine data on animals in national parks and wildlife sanctuaries “Mr. Sastri went on to say.
The fact that Turkey’s Akinci UCAV will be outfitted with Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar is a noteworthy achievement. Ismail Demir will showcase the new Aselsan AESA radar in November 2022. According to him, the technology would be retrofitted for the Akinci unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and the future Turkish Fighter Experimental (TF-X)/National Combat Aircraft.
Having a drone equipped with AESA radar will dramatically improve the country’s electronic warfare capabilities. AESA radars provide substantial advantages in terms of target acquisition speed, distance at which threats and potential threats may be recognised, and the precision and fidelity of the resultant tracks, especially for tiny objects.
They are far more dependable, leading in increased “up time” and greater jamming resistance. Turkey has now joined the restricted group of countries that produce AESA radars in-house. Integrating this radar into its most promising combat drone will provide its drone manufacturing and export a considerable boost.
Furthermore, Turkey’s absence from the F-35 partnership is expected to fill a vital gap in its military strength.
According to EurAsian Times, incorporating an AESA radar into the F-16 C/D fighter planes and UAVs will close the gap with Rafales in the rival Hellenic Air Force, which has an advanced AESA radar.
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