Turkiye’s Anka-3 stealth combat drone makes maiden flight

Europe, Middle East, News December 30, 2023 , by IRIA No Comments

Turkiye’s first flying-wing-designed stealth combat drone, Anka-3, made its maiden flight on December 28, 2023. The drone is set to become the latest addition to Turkey’s homegrown fleet of advanced combat drones.

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced the success of the maiden flight of the country’s highly advanced stealth drone. Erdogan said on a social media platform during his announcement, “Our unmanned warplane ANKA-3, developed by TAI, successfully completed its first flight today.”

The Turkish president added, “Hopefully, our aircraft will make a strong contribution to the defense of our country with its advanced technologies, design, and features.”

During its first flight, the drone stayed in the air for more than one hour and ten minutes and maintained a speed of 150 knots while reaching 8,000 feet of altitude. The drone was escorted by two Hurkus turboprop trainer planes during its initial flight.

TUSAŞ tarafından geliştirilen insansız savaş uçağımız Anka III, bugün ilk uçuşunu başarıyla gerçekleştirdi. İnşallah uçağımız, sahip olduğu gelişmiş teknolojilerle, tasarımıyla ve özellikleriyle ülkemizin savunmasına çok güçlü bir katkı sağlayacak. 🇹🇷 pic.twitter.com/ElZaSoNRVo
— Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (@RTErdogan) December 28, 2023

Designed and produced by the Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI), the Anka-3 drone is powered by a turbofan engine, which allows it to attain a maximum speed of 0.7 Mach and an altitude of 40,000 feet. The tailless design of the Anka-3 drone provides stealth capabilities with a high payload-carrying capacity.

The uncrewed combat aerial vehicle can be used for different missions such as reconnaissance, surveillance, and intelligence, with air-ground munitions, air-to-air ammunition, and radar systems.

Each of the two fuselage store stations can carry up to 630 kilograms of payload and weapons, while the outer wing stations will each have a capacity of 100 kilograms.

The drone also has internal weapons bays, which will be necessary to preserve its low-observable features. In total, Anka-3 has a payload capacity of 1,200 kilograms and it would be able to take off with a maximum weight of 6,500 kilograms.

ANKA-3 Unmanned Combat Drone — *^{Turkiye’s ANKA-3 Unmanned Combat Aircraft making first flight. (Image Credit: Twitter/@ConflictTR)}*

According to some reports, Anka-3’s weapons portfolio includes the U.S.-made MK82 freefall bombs or its GPS-enabled alternatives. The drone would also carry Small Diameter Bombs (SDB), as well as the locally produced SOM-J, a standoff missile with a range of at least 270 kilometers.

After being rejected from the U.S. F-35 program, Turkey has been working to improve its local aircraft manufacturing industry. Several of Turkey’s indigenous defense firms, especially TAI, Bayraktar, Aselsan, and Roketsan have developed expertise in building aircraft primarily for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions, deep-strike operations, and the destruction or suppression of enemy air defenses.

Turkey is currently developing its first locally produced fifth-generation fighter jet named the Milli Muhrip Ucak (MMU) or National Combat Aircraft, formerly known as the TF-X.

The aircraft bears some resemblance to the American F-22 and F-35 fighter jets and is intended to incorporate similar low-observable design features, including the use of internal weapons bays, leading-edge alignment, and radar-absorbent materials. Turkish Air Force is expected to receive the first batch of MMU fighter jets between 2030 and 2033.