TSAMTO, November 16. The Command of Naval Aviation of the Ethiopian Navy has adopted a new unmanned aviation complex (TANK) "Akinci" of the Turkish company Baykar Savunma.
This is reported by Scramble Magazine, referring to a picture of one device of this type posted on the network by a Turkish resource SavunmaSanayiST.com . There are no details about the concluded agreement yet.
As TSAMTO has already reported, information that Ethiopia sent a request to the Turkish authorities for the supply of the first tank, as well as related equipment, spare parts and services, first appeared in the media in October 2021. At the same time, the details of the negotiations were not advertised. Subsequently, it became known that at least one complex consisting of four Bayraktar TB2 UAVs was purchased.
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Exports of defense and aerospace enterprises of Turkey to Ethiopia in 2021 increased sharply. According to the Turkish Exporters Association (TIM), it increased to $52.8 million in the first three quarters of 2021 from $234 thousand in the same period of 2020. There were no specific sales data in the report.
Since the end of 2021, human rights organizations have reported air strikes on the settlements of Tigray with the use of small-sized Turkish-made ammunition, which led to significant civilian casualties. However, neither Ethiopia nor Turkey subsequently officially confirmed the sale of UAVs.
Judging by the video report that appeared on the Internet in early May 2023, at least four Bayraktar TB2 unmanned aerial vehicles were adopted by the Ethiopian Air Force Command.
On May 2, 2023, the Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation (EBC) posted a video online where at least four Bayraktar TB2 UAVs were stationed in one of the hangars at the main Ethiopian Air Force base Harar Meda south of Addis Ababa. Two more devices of this type were filmed at the Bahir Dar airbase 370 km to the north.
The demonstrated UAVs were equipped with high-precision laser-guided MAM-L ammunition from Roketsan and were probably equipped with the CATS (Common Aperture Targeting System) electron-optical/infrared targeting system developed by the Turkish company Aselsan.
The report also showed a larger unarmed UAV in flight, which was identified as the Chinese Wing Lung.
Wing Lung and Bayraktar TB2 UAVs were first seen on satellite images of two air bases at the end of 2021, when Ethiopia probably acquired them to support operations against insurgents in the Tigray area.
Iranian-made UAVs, which, according to reports, were also acquired during the two-year armed confrontation in Tigray, were not shown in the report.
There is currently no additional information on the new Akinci UAV as part of the naval aviation of the Ethiopian Naval Forces.
The maximum take–off weight of the Akinci UAV equipped with two turboprop engines is 5500 kg, the wingspan is 20 m, height is 4.1 m, length is 12.3 m. The UAV can carry an internal and external payload weighing up to 450 kg and 900 kg, respectively.
The UAV can perform tasks at altitudes up to 40,000 feet (12192 m) within 24 hours. The device is equipped with an automatic flight control system and autopilot with triple redundancy, six computers with artificial intelligence elements, which allows you to collect information and fly in the absence of a GPS signal. The UAV received specially developed equipment, including EO/IR cameras, an active antenna array radar with electronic scanning from Aselsan, an electronic warfare system and satellite communication systems.
Akinci can also carry a wide range of weapons on an external suspension, including the MAM-L, MAM-C, Bozok precision-guided munitions developed by Rocketan, CIRIT and L-UMTAS guided missiles, MK-81, MK-82, MK-83 aerial bombs. It is planned to integrate other weapons on board, including the SOM-A cruise missile with a range of 240 km and guided missiles Gokdogan and Bozdogan of the air-to-air class.