Paris Air Show: Anka on path to commercial market
While Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) showcased the weaponised version of its Anka UAV at the Paris Air Show the company said that it is also looking at the commercial market for the aircraft too.
TAI is carrying out various improvements to the aircraft
and will have a commercial variant of Anka ready in 12 to 18 months.
Speaking to Shephard Omer Yidiz, executive VP, unmanned systems at TAI, said, ‘We are planning to sell to the world for civil operations like border surveillance.’
Said improvements include new wings to improve lift, work on the engine and the propeller according to Yidiz, ‘we want to make the improvements so it can stay longer in the air.’
The company advertises the endurance of the UAV at 24 hours with a service ceiling of 30,000ft. The medium altitude long endurance UAV currently uses an 115hp heavy fuel engine.
TAI is on track to deliver the first four of a total of ten Anka-S aircraft to the Turkish Air Force by the end of 2017 and the final six in 2018. The company also has a contract, signed in 2016, for a number of the aircraft to be delivered to the Turkish Ministry of Interior though the total could not be disclosed.
All the contacts are for surveillance and reconnaissance only the company is looking at the weaponised market in the near future, having integrated and tested weaponry on the UAV.
The company’s Anka display included weapon systems from Turkish munitions manufacturer, Roketsan, including the laser-guided smart micro munitions, MAM-L. Another option is the Cirit guided missile.
The optional weapon systems could however reduce the endurance of the UAV due to the requirement for FLIR and wide area surveillance cameras to be integrated.
TAI first showcased the integrated weapon systems at IDEF, Istanbul, in May 2017. The first flight of the Anka-S variant was completed in 2015.
The aircraft has a wingspan of 17.3m, a payload capacity of 200kg and a data link range of 200km.
https://www.shephardmedia.com/news/uv-online/paris-air-show-anka-path-commercial-market/