Bayraktar Akıncı (, Raider lit. "

Akinji Akinji or akindji ( ota, آقنجى, aḳıncı, lit=raider, ; plural: ''akıncılar'') were irregular light cavalry, scout divisions (deli) and advance troops of the Ottoman Empire's military. When the pre-existing Turkish ghazis were incorp ...

") is a high-altitude long-endurance (HALE)

unmanned combat aerial vehicle An unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV), also known as a combat drone, colloquially shortened as drone or battlefield UAV, is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that is used for intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance ...

(UCAV) being manufactured by the Turkish defence company

Baykar Baykar is a private Turkish defence company specialising in UAVs, C4I and artificial intelligence. Name Baykar is a portmanteau of the words Bayraktar Kardeşler ( en, Bayraktar Brothers). The company presently operates under the names "Bayk ...

. The first three units entered service with the

Turkish Armed Forces The Turkish Armed Forces (TAF; tr, Türk Silahlı Kuvvetleri, TSK) are the military forces of the Republic of Turkey. Turkish Armed Forces consist of the General Staff, the Land Forces, the Naval Forces and the Air Forces. The current Ch ...

on 29 August 2021. The aircraft has a 5.5+ tons of

maximum takeoff weight The maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) or maximum gross takeoff weight (MGTOW) or maximum takeoff mass (MTOM) of an aircraft is the maximum weight at which the pilot is allowed to attempt to take off, due to structural or other limits. The analogou ...

(MTOW) of which 1350+ kg is composed of payload. Akıncı is equipped with two turboprop engines which has two different types of thrust capabilities as 450 or 750 hp. Akinci is equipped with electronic support and countermeasure systems, dual

satellite communication A communications satellite is an artificial satellite that relays and amplifies radio telecommunication signals via a transponder; it creates a communication channel between a source transmitter and a receiver at different locations on Earth. C ...

systems, air-to-air radar, collision avoidance radar and national advanced synthetic aperture radar.

Development

With the preliminary design phase completed in June 2019, Akıncı started engine ground run in August 2019 with a

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * Som ...

turboprop engine Ivchenko-Progress AI-450C. First engine test was accomplished on September 1, 2019. Following the completion of other technical tests, the aircraft was moved to the

Turkish Army The Turkish Land Forces ( tr, Türk Kara Kuvvetleri), or Turkish Army (Turkish: ), is the main branch of the Turkish Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. The army was formed on November 8, 1920, after the collapse of the ...

Çorlu Çorlu () is a northwestern Turkish city in inland Eastern Thrace that falls under the administration of the Province of Tekirdağ. It is a rapidly growing industrial centre built on flatland located on the motorway Otoyol 3 and off the highwa ...

Airfield Command. The UCAV made its

maiden flight The maiden flight, also known as first flight, of an aircraft is the first occasion on which it leaves the ground under its own power. The same term is also used for the first launch of rockets. The maiden flight of a new aircraft type is alwa ...

with automatic

taxiing Taxiing (rarely spelled taxying) is the movement of an aircraft on the ground, under its own power, in contrast to towing or pushback where the aircraft is moved by a tug. The aircraft usually moves on wheels, but the term also includes aircr ...

, take-off, 16-minute flight and successful landing on December 6, 2019. Akıncı has internal and external payload capacity, combining the overall combat load to max. . Powered by two or turboprop engines, large wingspan ensures 5.5 tons of

. Akıncı will be the first UAV capable of launching an air launched cruise missile. First pictures of the UAV hit media reports in June 2018 and it was unveiled to the public during the Teknofest Aviation, Space and Technology Festival in September 2019. On 22 April 2021, Bayraktar Akıncı UCAV has successfully conducted its first firing tests. During the test Akıncı was equipped with three different variants of the indigenously developed smart ammunitions, MAM-L, MAM-C and MAM-T. The test has also been the first public appearance of the

Roketsan Roketsan Roket Sanayii ve Ticaret A.S. is a major Turkish weapons manufacturer and defense contractor based in Ankara, Turkey. Incorporated in 1988 by Turkey's Defense Industry Executive Committee (''SSİK'') to establish the nation's industri ...

's newest smart ammunition MAM-T. From July 6 to 7, the aircraft completed a test flight of 25 hours and 45 minutes, flying 7507 km and reaching an altitude of 38,039 feet or 11,594 meters. On August 29, 2021, Akinci was added to the inventory of Turkish armed forces.

Operations

Akıncı has been used first in Pençe-Kilit Operations which held by Turkish military to dissolve PKK positions such as shelters and caves in Northern Iraq.

Avionics and radar

The Akinci drone is equipped with an indigenously manufactured

active electronically scanned array An active electronically scanned array (AESA) is a type of phased array antenna, which is a computer-controlled array antenna in which the beam of radio waves can be electronically steered to point in different directions without moving the an ...

(AESA) radar, a SAR/

GMTI Moving target indication (MTI) is a mode of operation of a radar to discriminate a target against the clutter. It describes a variety of techniques used for finding moving objects, like an aircraft, and filter out unmoving ones, like hills or trees ...

radar, a surveillance system,

electronic warfare Electronic warfare (EW) is any action involving the use of the electromagnetic spectrum (EM spectrum) or directed energy to control the spectrum, attack an enemy, or impede enemy assaults. The purpose of electronic warfare is to deny the opponen ...

, and signal intelligence suite (

SIGINT Signals intelligence (SIGINT) is intelligence-gathering by interception of '' signals'', whether communications between people (communications intelligence—abbreviated to COMINT) or from electronic signals not directly used in communication ...

), and SATCOM allowing Akinci to become an UCAV as well as ISTAR+C3 asset for Turkish military.

Timeline

* On 6 December 2019, Bayraktar Akıncı conducted its maiden flight. * On 10 January 2020, Bayraktar Akıncı prototype 1 conducted its second flight and passed over 6000 ft. * On 13 August 2020, Bayraktar Akıncı prototype 2 conducted its maiden flights. * On 19 August 2020, Bayraktar Akıncı prototype 2 conducted its medium altitude system integration flight tests. * On 22 August 2020, Bayraktar Akıncı prototype 1 passed over 30.000 ft during a flight test. * On 5 September 2020, Bayraktar Akıncı prototype 2 conducted its high altitude and high speed flight tests. * On 8–9 September 2020, Critical Design Review was conducted for Bayraktar Akıncı UCAV platform. * On 11 September 2020, Bayraktar Akıncı prototype 2 conducted its medium altitude system integration flight tests. * On 3 October 2020, Bayraktar Akıncı prototype 2 conducted the asymmetric thrust tests. * On 13 March 2021, Bayraktar Akıncı prototype 2 conducted its advanced system integration flight tests. * On 27 March 2021, Bayraktar Akıncı prototype 3 conducted its maiden flight. * On 10 April 2021, Bayraktar Akıncı prototype 3 conducted its medium altitude system integration flight tests. * On 13 April 2021, Bayraktar Akıncı prototype 3 conducted its high altitude and high speed flight tests. * On 22 April 2021, Bayraktar Akıncı conducted its first firing tests. * On 19 May 2021, the first serial produced Bayraktar Akıncı conducted its maiden flight * On 7 July 2021, Bayraktar Akıncı set the new national flight altitude record of Turkey by cruising at for 25 hours and 46 minutes at a distance of 7,507 km * On 10 July 2021, Bayraktar Akıncı conducted a 13 hours and 24 minute long flight with 1360 kg payload. During the flight Akıncı was equipped with the NEB

bunker buster A bunker buster is a type of munition that is designed to penetrate hardened targets or targets buried deep underground, such as military bunkers. Armor piercing shells Germany Röchling shells were bunker-busting artillery shells, developed b ...

bomb developed by TUBITAK SAGE. Marking the heaviest bomb ever carried by an UCAV * On 29 August 2021, the first three units were delivered to the Turkish Armed Forces * On 24 December 2021, two units were delivered to the Turkish Armed Forces * On 23 January 2022, first export agreement of Bayraktar Akıncı was announced * On 13 February 2022, Bayraktar Akıncı conducted its first combat mission * On 2 March 2022, second export agreement of Bayraktar Akıncı was announced * On 2 March 2022, the Baykar announced that the Bayraktar AKINCI-B version with twin engines completed its maiden flight * On 21 May 2022, the Bayraktar AKINCI crossed 3 countries (Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan), flying approximately 2000 km. * On 14 June 2022, the Bayraktar AKINCI UCAV (Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle) has successfully completed its first firing test from 30 kilometers away with the KGK-SIHA-82 (Winged Guidance Kit) ammunition. * On 21 June 2022, the Bayraktar AKINCI B Variant took off to carry out endurance, high altitude and high speed tests ,The B Variant rose to an altitude of 45,118 feet (13,716 meters) within the scope of the test, returned to Bayraktar AKINCI Flight, Training and Test Center at Çorlu Airport Command after 20 hours and 23 minutes of flight. * On 1 July 2022 , the Bayraktar AKINCI carried out a test firing with the LGK-82 (Laser Guidance Kit), developed by ASELSAN, Flying with an altitude of 30 thousand feet, the target was laser-marked by Bayraktar TB2 SİHA , The LGK-82 was Launched from UAV for the first time. * On 3 August 2022, three units were delivered to the Turkish Air Force * On 24 August 2022, three additional units were delivered to the Turkish Armed Forces, bringing the number of drones operated by Turkey to 12

Operators

The Bayraktar Akıncı has been sold to 4 countries as of October 2022.

Current operators

Turkish Land Forces The Turkish Land Forces ( tr, Türk Kara Kuvvetleri), or Turkish Army (Turkish: ), is the main branch of the Turkish Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. The army was formed on November 8, 1920, after the collapse of the ...

– 8 operational *

Turkish Air Force The Turkish Air Force ( tr, ) is the aerial warfare service branch of the Turkish Armed Forces. The Turkish Air Force can trace its origins back to June 1911 when it was founded by the Ottoman Empire, however, the air force as it is known t ...

– 6 operational

Future operators

* Azerbaijan Air Force *

Pakistan Air Force , "Be it deserts or seas; all lie under our wings" (traditional) , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = ...

– Plan to operate after 2023 * Kyrgyz Air Force

Potential operators

Indonesian National Armed Forces , founded = as the ('People's Security Forces') , current_form = , disbanded = , branches = , headquarters = Cilangkap, Jakarta , website = , commander-in-chief = Joko Widodo ...

Specifications

Gallery

File:BayraktarAkıncı Teknofest2019 (3).jpg, Bayraktar Akıncı Teknofest 2019 File:Bayraktar Akıncı SİHA (UAV).jpg, Bayraktar Akıncı Teknofest 2019 File:BayraktarAkıncı Teknofest2019 (2).jpg, Bayraktar Akıncı Teknofest 2019 (Payload)

References

{{commons category, Bayraktar Akıncı Unmanned military aircraft of Turkey Twin-boom aircraft High-wing aircraft Twin-turboprop tractor aircraft Medium-altitude long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicles Aircraft first flown in 2019 Unmanned aerial vehicles of Turkey