TSAMTO, November 9. The Turkish daily Sabah newspaper reported on the successful testing on November 6 of the Bayraktar TB2 UAV equipped with the CATS (Common Aperture Targeting System) developed by ASELSAN EO/IR.
As the company that developed the UAV, Baykar, reported on its Twitter page, Bayraktar TB2 successfully completed the first test launch of a missile using the EO / IR system for reconnaissance, surveillance and targeting CATS.
The company also posted a video showing tests conducted at the Baykar flight training center in Tekirdag province (in northwestern Turkey).
The Bayraktar TB2 used for testing was equipped with mam - L guided mini-ammunition developed by Roketsan. As part of the test flights, the ability to quickly capture and track targets with the CATS turret was tested. Launched at high altitude and range, the MAM-L hit the target with high accuracy using CATS targeting.
CATS is an electronic-optical reconnaissance, surveillance, and targeting system designed for aircraft and helicopters, as well as various types of unmanned aerial vehicles. Earlier it was reported that the system will also be equipped with UAV "Anka-S".
Baykar's message is a kind of response to Western countries that have suspended sales of military products to Turkey due to the participation of its armed forces and the use of Turkish weapons in various conflicts.
So, in early October 2020, canadian foreign Minister Francois-Philippe champagne announced that the country is suspending the issuance of permits for the export of UAV equipment to Turkey. We are talking about the export of sighting and observation systems used on the Bayraktar TB2 UAV. Almost immediately, the head of the Directorate of defense industry of Turkey (SSB), Ismail Demir, announced his intention to start mass production of the Aselsan electronic optical system CATS in the near future to replace it. Information on the effectiveness of the national system in comparison with the canadian one is not yet available.
It should also be noted that at the end of October, the canadian Bombardier Recreational Products (BRP) announced that it suspended the supply of aircraft engines to "countries with questionable applications" after reports that some of them are used on Turkish attack drones used by the Azerbaijani armed forces in Nagorno-Karabakh. It can be assumed that the engines produced by its Austrian subsidiary Rotax will be more difficult for Turkish manufacturers to replace.
