The Turkish government wants to convert its TCG Anadolu assault ship into a home for launching attack drones in future missions. The country has been forced to develop its own system after it bought an air defense system from Russia, resulting in the United States removing it from the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter project.
If you aren’t aware by now, the company that has been developing solutions to convert the ship is Turkish drone-maker Baykar. The company is reportedly working on various projects to get drones onto the ship.
It is expected that 10 drones can be launched and flown at one time, with a total of 30 and 50 Bayraktar TB3, which hasn’t been released yet, drones being able to call the ship home for their operations.
Many of the details are still unknown with officials unwilling to share anymore info on the drones or the assault ship.
CEO of drone-maker Baykar, Haluk Bayraktar shared in a recent interview:
“To give UAVs takeoff-and-land[ing] ability on aircraft carriers, their structure must be strong because they are subjected to very high G-shocks. We aim to develop a new [unmanned combat aerial vehicle] UCAV that will successfully land and take off on LHD Anadolu in one year.”
Turkish drone manufacturer Baykar Defence produces four drones, two of them being surveillance drones and the other two having the ability to carry ammunition. The Bayraktar AKINCI is the largest drone made by the company and has a flight time of up to 24 hours, and can fly at speeds of 195 knots. Powering it all is two 750-horsepower or 450-horsepower turboprop engines, depending on the use.
The Bayraktar TB2 drone from Baykar is a medium-altitude long-endurance drone used for both surveillance and armed missions. So far, it has been used by Azerbaijan, Libya, Qatar, Turkey, and Ukraine. It can fly up to 220 kph (136 mph) and stay in the air for up to 27 hours. It uses an unknown 100 HP ICE fuel-injected engine with a 79-gallon gas tank.
It can carry up to four bombs when armed, including anti-tank missiles, precision-guided missiles, and laser-guided rockets. When it comes to surveillance operations, it is equipped with EO, IR, LD, and targeting sensors, with an upgrade to the system coming soon.
Photo: Drone Strike (edited)
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