Turkey's Anka UAV makes operational debut
The Turkish military utilised the Anka UAV for the first time in an area that is close to the Kurdish dominated southeastern region of the country and the Syrian border. Source: TAI
The Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) Anka unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) made its operational debut in early February, the Foundation to Strengthen the Turkish Armed Forces (TSKGV) announced.
The mission, which took place on 5 February, saw a modified version of the Anka A medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) UAV fly a four-hour sortie over the eastern Anatolian town of Elazig. During this mission, the indigenously-developed UAV tested new surveillance payloads over an area of 32 km 2 from an altitude of 18,000 ft. The Turkish Defence Industries Undersecretariat (SSM) told
IHS Jane's that these payload tests will continue for an unspecified period of time.
According to the Turkish deputy defence minister Suay Alpay, the Anka has initially been deployed in Elazig due to the current strategic needs of the Turkish General Staff. Elazig is close to the Kurdish dominated southeastern region of the country where heavy fighting is taking place between the Turkish security forces and the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), as well as to the restive Syrian border.
The Anka is primarily a day-and-night intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance (ISTAR) asset, equipped with a high-definition (HD) electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) sensor turret that includes laser designator and laser rangefinding capabilities. A complete system comprises three air vehicles, a truck-mounted ground control station, an encrypted portable video terminal, a trailer-mounted power generator, an all-weather radar-based automatic take-off and landing system with digital GPS back-up, and a truck-mounted image exploitation system.
TAI has built on its earlier Anka Block A platform with a more capable Block B variant. Having made its maiden flight in January 2015, the second-generation Anka Block B (also known as Anka-S) features a more expansive payload to the pre-series/basic Anka Block A, including a new HD EO/IR payload including a laser designator/laser rangefinder, an Aselsan/MilSOFT synthetic aperture radar (SAR), satellite communications (SATCOM), an encrypted datalink and an indigenous flight control computer.
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Turkey's Anka UAV makes operational debut | IHS Jane's 360
