The Turkish defense company Baykar will soon test two new UAVs.
They will expand the capabilities of drones from ground to naval operations, its CEO said. Haluk Bayraktar, one of the two engineering brothers running the defense firm Baykar, said the new drone will be tested in the next two years and will be able to take off from a Turkish Navy ship, which is currently in production, Duvar points out.
Currently, the company has signed export agreements with 13 countries, including a joint production agreement with Ukraine, Bayraktar stressed.
According to analysts, the scale of the Turkish unmanned aerial vehicle program puts it in the top four world manufacturers along with the United States, Israel and China.
"Intelligent unmanned aircraft systems are two leading technologies that have changed the landscape for power projection. Because everyone is talking about how drone technology is changing combat doctrines..> one of our next goals is the TB3 unmanned aerial vehicle capable of taking off and landing on TCG Anadolu," Bayraktar said, referring to the Turkish light aircraft carrier under development.
The new version of the drone — TB3 - with a folding wing will be able to deploy from short naval runways, the inventor specified. According to Bayraktar, due to the fact that some sections are under production, it is expected that the first test flight will take place next year.
It will be followed by an unmanned combat aircraft called MUIS, the first flight of a prototype of which is expected in 2023, he added.
Currently at the design stage, MUIS will be equipped with a jet engine with a payload of up to 1.5 tons, MK-Turkey reports.
